Proposal
by h2ofan
Summary: After accepting to help out a friend Ariadne finds herself "married" to Arthur while they try to convince his family that he does indeed live a normal life. Maybe there is something else there besides a favor... A/A rating moved from T to M
1. Faked Engagement

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION! No matter how much I wish I did…. **

**A/N Real quickly I have to say this is kind of a different version of the movie The Proposal only with Ariadne and Arthur and like there are different reasons and motives but basic idea came from that I guess… but I don't own that either. Sorry had to do Arthur/Ariadne Romance story…. HAD TO… here…. Sorry rambling: **

"There," I flung myself onto the bed, "Finally done unpacking."

It had been a week and I had finally gotten around to unpacking all of my things. And that was only because it was raining and everything I had wanted to do was interrupted by the storm. My apartment was finally clean. Now what was I supposed to do? Summer break was just beginning, and I didn't feel like going all the way back to the states to see my family. I had been all over the place in the past two or so months. Ireland, United Kingdom, various areas in the states, I had even gone to Russia. I was tired of traveling and I was glad to be back in France. The storm was somewhat soothing. It blocked out the sun completely making it look like night and the rain tapping against the window was music to my ears.

There was a knock at the door. I groaned and got up. I left the bedroom and went into the living area.

"Who is it?" I wasn't expecting anyone.

"Ariadne it's me, Arthur," I almost fainted at the sound of his voice. I hadn't seen him since the Fischer job. I felt like it had been years earlier but that was only because he was on the first team. The first team I had worked with anyways.

"Arthur," I swung the door open quickly. "What are you doing here?"

He looked horrible, well not horrible, but tired and wary. Everything was soaking from his hair all the way down to hi expensive designer shoes. I couldn't help but feel bad. He always took such care to look his best and dress in nothing less than suits.

"Can I… um… come in?" he asked quietly. I couldn't help but stare before I nodded.

"Thanks," he said. He stepped in, pulling two suitcases behind him. I closed the door and motioned for him to follow me.

"Need a towel?" I grabbed one from my bathroom and handed it to him. He smiled gratefully and took it from me.

"You look like hell," I remarked with a quiet laugh. He looked up at me, "Thank you."

"What happened?" I asked, helping him take off his suit jacket. There was no use though, everything was soaked. I sighed and pulled him into the kitchen. I got some more towels and tried as best as I could to help him dry off.

"Well… I was running and I guess I just found myself here." He answered quickly. I smiled, when he was in danger the first person he thought to come to was me. How sweet.

"I knew you would at least try to hide me since you… understood," he coughed.

"This isn't going to work… take off your shirt." I didn't mean for it to come out so demanding. He looked up at me, one eyebrow raised. I rolled my eyes and put my hand on my waist, "Don't be a little kid."

"Fine." He reached for the bottom of the collared shirt and pulled it up over his head. I averted my eyes for a moment then quickly looked back. Now I was being the little kid. I took the shirt and jacket. I would have asked for his pants as well but that was pushing it a little too far. I ran to the washing area and threw the things into the wash. I grabbed my robe and came back in. I draped it over his shoulders and he looked up, "thanks."

"Do you want something to drink. Hot chocolate, coffee… something alcoholic perhaps." I reached into my cupboard and looked around.

"Definitely something alcoholic," he laughed. I rolled my eyes and pulled out the few bottles I had. Pouring myself a glass and him some. I set it down in front of him and took a seat.

"Sorry," he said as he took a large sip.

"Not a problem… I was bored," I answered. We sat there wordless for a moment. I didn't know what to say. Could I ask about the others, would that make it look like I didn't care about him? Did he even care about talking or was he just stopping by for some help? I hadn't seen him in a long time and it made me forget how handsome he was. Even though he looked like he had just stepped out of the shower, it didn't hurt his appearance at all.

"How is…. everyone?" I broke the silence.

"Mmm?" he looked up. I had interrupted one of his deep thought sessions.

"The others?" I smiled hopefully. Then his familiar smile returned. It was that small one that he had shared with me before. When he was proud of my work or was just looking at me, "Yes the others… Fine… all fine."

"I hope you don't mind my asking… why are you in France?"

"My parents want me to come home this week…" he shuddered.

"Are they that bad?" I asked a smile coming across my face.

"No, they aren't bad at all," he put the drink down on the table. I frowned and moved to take a seat across from him. He waited for a moment.

"They think I'm married," he laughed.

"And you're not?" I asked, my eyes falling to his hand. There was nothing there.

"Of course not," he snapped offended, "I just had to tell them that to get them to stop trying to fix me up with people. That and I needed an excuse to why I rarely come to visit."

That didn't sound like a half bad idea. Though I could see many holes in the story. If he didn't have pictures or the fact that he didn't invite them to the wedding. Those could be problems.

"Problem is they expect me to bring her with me this time… and I don't even have a girlfriend to speak of," He was deep in thought now. His brown eyes stared at the tablecloth's pattern. Was he waiting for me to say something?

"Do you want me to do it?" the words slipped out of my mouth before I could really think them over.

"What?" he looked up at me. He wasn't the only one that was surprised. I sat back and avoided his gaze, "Um… yeah… sure… would you want to?"

"I really have nothing better to do," it wasn't a lie at least. I looked around the apartment.

"That would mean you would have to pretend to be like… married to me," he stammered.

"I understand," I laughed. Was it really such a bad idea? Why couldn't we just pretend that we were married. It was only going to be for a week or two. How horrible could that be? Plus it wasn't like there wasn't a little something there. He obviously liked me or he wouldn't have tried to kiss me. I could have liked him, he was charming and sweet, why couldn't we be a couple? It could totally be believable.

"Thank you so much!" He jumped up and came around the table to give me a hug. I laughed and pushed him away from me, "We're not husband and wife yet."

"Sorry about that," he laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. I stood up and sighed, "Where are you parents?" I really wasn't looking forward to traveling more. It was going to suck to be on another airplane and or train. The ride always took forever, even when it was short. I was fed up with traveling in fact.

"They live a little while outside the city. Short drive," he said casting a glance to the window. Rain still tapped against the pain. It was dark even though it was only the afternoon. I flipped on the kitchen light and smiled.

"You can hang here till then, I guess." I said gesturing towards the rest of the apartment, "Seeing as you have nothing else." I looked over towards the two suitcases he did have. One was the large black box that I immediately recognized as a PASIV holder. The other was a small one that I knew he kept his belongings in.

"Thank you… I really didn't mean to push this on you," he apologized.

"Like I said, I have nothing better to do," I laughed. "Wait."

"What?" he froze.

"Aren't we going to make this official?" I asked turning in my seat. He laughed and got down on his knee. I tried to ignore the fact that he was soaking wet, without a shirt on with only a women's robe to cover him, because otherwise I knew I would laugh. He took my hand and looked up at my eyes. His were gleaming with laughter.

"Ariadne," a laugh broke through, "Will you do the honor of marrying me?"

"I would love to Arthur," I pulled him into a hug. This time I didn't care. He pulled away and laughed. "Better get ready. It's going to be a long two weeks."

I watched as he headed into the other room to change his cloths. "I look forward to it!"

**Oh if you read any of my other stories I have a note: **

**I unfortunately can no longer continue three of them. Two have already been removed from my profile because I just didn't know where I was going and I have to take off one of the others To Remember or Not to Remember because I didn't know what to say or do. I am sorry if you hoped for updates with that story but I just couldn't the same with The Dream and I dreamed that Love would never die. I just didn't know what to do so they are all going to be removed. That will leave my favorite inception stories and this one… so just a heads up! **


	2. Welcome to the Lie

I leaned back against the hot leather car seat. It was nice to sleep a little extra, but my stupid stomach made me realize how nervous I really was. My feet tapped against the floor and my hands kept fiddling with each other. Arthur didn't seem to notice much, he was too intent on driving. Neither of us really seemed to take much note of the radio that was playing in the background. My fingers pulled off and pushed back on the ring that he had given me.

It was one of the things we had to settle before we had left. When I asked him how he would prove it he gave me the ring he said he always had it. It had been his grandmothers and well… he had always carried it with him, just in case. It felt dreadfully heavy on my hand, but not just because it was a large beautiful diamond, but because of the guilt that came along with it.

"Arthur?" I sat up. It was the first time he really acknowledged that we were even in the same car.

"Yes?" he looked over at me.

"I… am… nervous," I confessed turning up the A/C.

"There is no reason to worry." He assured me, "Just remember what we practiced."

Yeah that was right… we had practiced. Neither of us really believed that we could pull it off… I mean he and I only knew each other from a month or two of working together. Other than that we were almost complete strangers. I pulled my sunglasses back over my eyes and leaned my head against the seat. That wasn't very reassuring.

"Hey," he knew that I was still bothered. His left hand reached out and took my right. I looked over at him, that was a little more coupley than we had planned, but still it gave me comfort.

"Tell me a little more about your parents." I prodded.

"Well…" he thought for a moment, "I don't really know what else to say besides they're normal people."

Normal people, I could handle that. I just had to pretend that I was married to their son. No big deal. I glanced out the window. We had been driving for a while and I hadn't seen a house in a while. Trees lined the road, which confused me.

"Arthur? Where exactly do they live?" I sat up and tried to see if there were any other cars near us.

"Well…technically they live in England but this is our summer home since they come up here for business this time of year… They are totally middle class people though, I promise."

"Summer home?" I repeated. Normal people did not have summer homes. Or maybe they did… but if they did they weren't this exclusively private. I looked over to the side, that was near his window. The wall that snaked along the side of the forest was giving me a horrible feeling in my stomach. Rightfully so too, the wall proved to hold an estate.

We reached the middle of it. Large gates stood to guard the entrance. There was a sign on the front but I was too nervous to read it. My vision was fuzzy and my stomach ached like I was going to throw up or something. Arthur turned the car to pull in.

The driveway snaked upwards onto a hill. Trees only existed at the wall. The rest of it was one of the largest front lawns I had ever laid my eyes on. My eyes followed the driveway until I hit the house and let out a gasp. Aside from the fact that there was a large fountain out front, the house itself was something I would only think about creating in a dream. It looked like it was an old Georgian Colonial that had been updated many times to incorporate different styles and add on different floors. The pillars in the front of the house were enough to intimidate me, not to mention the number of floors. One, two, three, four…floors, this was their summer home?

"Arthur?" I squeezed his hand out of fear.

"Don't worry," he smiled at me. Quickly he got out of the car and came around to open my door, since I was still frozen with fear. I felt extremely underdressed, looking down at my outfit. I had only bothered to put on a normal outfit, I wasn't expecting first class expensive mansion vacation home type wear. I fiddled with the end of my scarf and tried to fix my t shirt so that it might not look so casual.

"What about the stuff?" I asked looking back at the car.

"No, it's all right. They'll get it," he hand took mine and our fingers interlaced. I tried to focus on our hands for once, instead of my surroundings, but it was impossible, everything was so… grand.

"They'll" I heard myself mummer.

He pulled me to the door that opened with a slight push. I didn't know why but I guess I was expecting something a little more welcoming than us just barging into the house. The entranceway itself took me away either way. It opened up to a large room. There was something that resembled a desk near the entrance but it was probably just an accent piece, or I think that was what it was called. I was way too nervous about this. A double staircase led up to the next floor. Up above on the ceiling was a chandelier that I should have been able to see from the outside. There was a giant arch beneath the stairs that led into a different room that I couldn't name. These types of homes had a million names for their various rooms from drawing rooms to living rooms. There were other rooms off to the right and the left but Arthur seemed to know where he was going since he pulled me beyond the archway.

I tried to count the number of rooms before we finally reached the back room. The walls went up high, at least cutting into the second story. The windows were just as large reaching up to the ceiling. I looked out and I could see the most amazing view. Of course there was a large patio that held all the outdoor necessities the rich might need like a barbeque and enough café styled seats to entertain a group of at least twenty or so. Then beyond that was the most breathtaking pool landscape. It was the type that you saw on those pool commercials where they offer you paradise with the type of stones that you could line your pool with.

"Come on," I hadn't realized that I was just staring and not really moving. Arthur closed my mouth with a finger and laughed, "You need to stop worrying."

I was far beyond worrying though, in fact I was on the edge of having a panic attack. We headed out into the warm summer air and he pulled me down the steps to the side of the pool. Over the edge I could see the other slope of the hill. It went down and it would have led to a forest but instead there was a golf course… of course they would have a golf course.

"You have to be shitting me," I said looking over at Arthur.

"What did you expect? It's not too fancy," he said with a shrug. I felt my eyes widen a little.

"Arthur?" a new voice came. Arthur and I turned around at the same speed, one that would have given me whiplash. An older woman approached us. She was fairly pretty. She was definitely wasn't one of those stereotypical rich country club housewives. In fact she looked fairly normal, despite the way that she acted. The appletini she held in her hand it didn't really help too much. She wore a knee length white dress with sunflowers on it and had on a straw colored hat that cast a shadow on her slightly wrinkled face. She had blonde hair that was short, but enough for the tips to come down to her shoulders. Her appearance struck me because she looked nothing like Arthur.

Arthur rushed forwards, "Mom!"

The two embraced each other. I stayed back for a moment, slightly unsure.

"Mom, I would like you to meet Ariadne… my wife." He held out his hand for me. I took it and stepped forwards holding out my other hand.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Fredrick." I said as politely and innocently as my voice could manage.

"Nice to meet you too dear, and please call me Penny," she said taking off her sunglasses.

"Ariadne what a pretty… interesting name." From the moment she spoke I could tell she was extremely sweet. Maybe she wasn't all that I thought she was.

"I am so glad that we could finally meet," she said taking a sip of her appletini.

"I am too. I'm sorry we couldn't meet before." I said looking at Arthur for help.

"I am too," she answered curtly, the subject was obviously touchy.

"We were moving around and I had work and it just wasn't convenient." Arthur said giving me a hopeful smile. I nodded earnestly. The woman looked between the two of us, her penciled eyebrow rising.

"Well anyways I am sure your father would love to meet your wife." She said looking back at me.

"I am sure," Arthur answered quickly. I looked between the two of them and she moved away.

"What was that?" I asked in his ear.

"Nothing." He whispered back.

"Why don't you two go and get washed up and we will meet you on the terrace for lunch?" she suggested sweetly. Arthur nodded looking from her to me, "Wonderful idea."

Washed up? That definently meant that she wanted me to change. I pulled the ends of my hair nervously as Arthur pulled me back into the house. We headed to the staircase and walked up together. I don't know why we held hands but I felt like we needed practice to make it look a bit more natural than the awkward way we held hands before. We were silent until we reached the fourth floor, of course his room was on the fourth floor.

"We prepared your room sir," A maid said stepping out of a room.

"Thank you so much," he said pushing his way into the double doors. I waited outside and looked at her. I don't know what she thought or possessed her but what happened next made me blush.

"Would you like a separate room or something… you look uncomfortable miss…" she said quietly.

"No," I could feel my face getting red, "Thank you," The woman headed down the hall slowly leaving me to follow Arthur.

"What was that?" he laughed at me.

"Shut up!" I rolled my eyes. So this was it. It was a simple room. There was a king size bed in the middle that hosted an elaborate headboard that was carved and looked more like artwork than furniture really. Millions of pillows lined the bed, which I couldn't help but laugh at. There was a large plasma screen TV hanging over a desk. A bureau sat on the wall that held the doors. Then I saw it. Curtains covered the whole wall. I went up to them and tugged the cord. I gasped and opened the door that they revealed. There was a balcony. This house was one of the weirdest ones I had seen in a while.

"Like the view?" he called from the room.

"Love it," I confessed, forgetting about everything for moment. I could see farther than I needed really. In the distance I could see the town that we had passed through. Then I got nauseas as I saw the full extent of the golf course. It was larger than it looked. I had to get back inside. I stepped through the doors and slid it closed. I headed to the bathroom to make sure I didn't blow chunks.

"So what do you think of my mom so far?" he asked, bringing me back.

"Arthur, what the hell?" I demanded, "Normal people? Middle Classman? Oh yeah they're so normal they live in a freaking mansion!" I couldn't control my anger. The smile on his face widened and he started to laugh, "You're funny."

"For damn sure I am!" I countered. I slammed the door and took a deep breath. I leaned forwards to look myself in the mirror. I was glad that I had given off a first impression that went over fine but the second one was going to be even better, I was determined. I just needed my makeup and better looking cloths. That was it! I opened the door back up and went over to my suitcase. Arthur lay on the bed looking through his phone.

I pulled out the only dress that I had bothered to bring with me. I had planned t wear it just in case but this was a dire situation and called for action. I headed back into the bathroom and changed. Along with it I fixed my makeup. I darkened my eyes with dark eye shadow and black mascara. I even had the nerve to break out my curler and perfect my wavy hair.

"Wow," Arthur gasped as I emerged from the bathroom.

"Is this ok?" I motioned to the white dress. It had thin straps as well but it could do. There was a green belt that went across the waist and let the rest of the material flow down to my knees.

"You look…." He was speechless, the approach I had hoped for.

"Let's do this," I gestured holding out my left hand. He looked down at the ring for a second and then back up at me. I was just as dressy as he was. Then again he did decide to go a bit more casual than usual. Just a dress shirt, tie and black pants. Still, I was closer to what I hoped they expected of me.

"Whatever you do, try to not talk a lot ok?" he whispered as we headed back down the stairs. I nodded. That was one thing he didn't have to worry about. We headed back out to the back of the house.

"There you two are," we hadn't really been gone for that long but I ignored it.

"Ariadne, this is my husband, Arthur's father, Richard." Penny said introducing me to an older man who struck me as familiar.

"Nice to meet you," I said with the biggest smile I could manage without it looking creepy.

"Nice to meet you too," he was exactly what I imagined Arthur to look like in a good forty years. He had the same warm eyes and the hair color was similar, though Rich seemed to be losing it with age. He wore a golfing outfit however, something Arthur wouldn't dare wear. A yellow shirt that matched the sunflowers on his wife's dress and khaki pants that only came up to his knees. He was very in shape for an older man and he was just about Arthur's height.

"Please, wont you take a seat?" Penny asked motioning to the table. Arthur pulled out a chair for me.

"Thanks," I whispered. He nodded and took his own seat.

"Wine?" a woman who was obviously the server offered me some. I nodded and held out my glass. The liquid was cool and nice.

"So…" Rich started, "Ariadne… please tell us what it is you do. Arthur never bothered to describe you."

"Oh, Arthur," I said glancing at him for hopeful hints. I didn't know what to say, whatever he did tell them I couldn't go against that.

"I'm an architect," I answered. "I work with a friend of Arthur's in fact. His firm, that is how we met."

"Oh yes of course." Penny leaned back in her seat.

"Once again I have to apologize for not having you at the wedding," I leaned forward hoping that I sounded convincing, "It was a really small occasion. In fact it was so small we only had a few friends… not even my own family came."

"Where did you two get married?" Rich asked looking at me expectantly.

"A church in the states," Arthur answered quickly. His parents looked at me, waiting for me to say something else.

"Yes… it was very nice…" I didn't know what else they were expecting of me. The smell of food filled the air and plates were put in front of us. I looked down and saw something I couldn't even name. I wasn't a culinary person at all, in fact I was lucky if I didn't mess up getting a bowl of cereal but I was daring enough to eat to cut off the tension that was between everyone at the table.

"So dad…" Arthur helped me. "How is business?"

"Very well… I just wish I could have gotten you to join me in the family tradition," his father said shaking his head. What was he a lawyer? A doctor? A government worker? My mind filled with suggestions as to what his dad could be.

"Instead you decided to get into government work… such a shame," Penny shook her head.

"Sorry. You know I was never very good at the hardware stuff," Arthur scoffed.

"We would have shared our lottery money with you. You know that. Its actually very comfortable to work at the shop and still be able to have a little extra to use around here," Richard looked around the house.

"Woah woah woah wait what do you do?" I asked, choking on my wine.

"I work down at the hardware store in the town we live in… this is just our other business." He said with a smile. He was a very sweet older man. I could see where Arthur had gotten all his charm and the looks.

"Yes dear, what did you think? We were lawyers or doctors and always spent our time this extravagantly?" Arthur's mom prodded.

"You just won the lottery and that's what got you this?" I gestured to the house.

"That's the story," she laughed, "We're normal people I promise you. In fact I would have preferred you met us at our other home, much more normal and less fancy."

I sat back taking a deep breath. I was relieved.

"Oh dear you thought that we lived here all by ourselves?" Penny laughed, "of course not. We won the lottery a while back and we bought this here mansion and changed it into a hotel. Didn't you see the sign out front?" she asked. I shook my head. With all the nervousness that I had felt I didn't really get a chance to look around.

"We open only during the summer, seeing as it's a hassle to get up here in the winter time. Next week is our opening week in fact. People usually come mostly then so we wanted some time to relax with you two before the customers come," Richard said. So these were normal people. They were trying to make a living. She wasn't a rich housewife at all. Well they could be rich if they had won the lottery but they didn't flaunt it around, they used it to create their dream. No wonder they weren't stuck up.

"So Arthur… Ariadne, can we be expecting kids anytime soon." This time Arthur was the one that choked on his drink.

"Oh… not too soon…" I said looking over at Arthur, "I would love to but with his job and my job right now isn't the most… convenient time." He nodded. He mouthed a thank you without them noticing.

"Excuse me sir?" someone came up to the table. He wore a bright blue shirt and white pants. I stared at him.

"Sorry," Richard said standing up, "You will have to excuse me. Business." He rolled his eyes and threw his napkin on the table. Penny smiled and nodded. As he headed back inside the building I looked over at Arthur.

"So there was something I was going to tell you dear," Penny leaned forward picking at her food. Arthur looked up, wiping his mouth. I politely tried to eat whatever it was, but decided against it.

"I'll tell you tomorrow when your father is here but I think it's something you'll both appreciate," she said as sweetly as she could manage. Ok so I could understand them wanting grandchildren and being normal people but I was intrigued by this offer.

"Well… I won't keep you two from unwinding from your long drive." Penny stood up taking the plates. I got up and took mine but she protested and took it.

"Thanks mom," Arthur said with a smile. Quickly he took my hand and gave a short nod. Like it was a race he pulled me into the hotel. I looked around and could see it now. The sign was there and the desk in the front was probably for checking in. The golf course seemed less outrageous.

"Why didn't you tell me they lived in the hotel?" I demanded.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I really thought I told you."

I scowled as he laughed some more. We both headed up the stairs back to his room. This was going to be easy. I just had to calm down. They were normal people. Of course that was from what I knew of them so far. The real test would surely begin tomorrow. The day we had to make conversation about real things aside from work. The thought scared me. There was less pressure though, I didn't have to live up to fancy expectations, for all I knew they had already accepted me as their daughter in law. All I had was a week and six days left of living the lie…

**A/N: I HAD THE BEST RESPONSE FROM YOU GUYS. (It actually inspired me to update this so fast so thanks!) I feel like the whole world added this story to their alerts THANK YOU! I tried to change it up a little I guess… I thought the obvious thing to do would be to make Arthur and his parents' super rich but instead I just made them win the lottery lol. So yeah more story to come soon! I have indeed formed and written down a plot for this (including Penny's surprise!) so I promise this one will NOT be deleted! Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys rock! **


	3. WEB of LIES!

When I woke up I froze. I stopped breathing all together. How did we end up in such an awkward position? I was right up against him. His arms were wrapped around me. It felt nice but this wasn't a part of the deal. Not that I didn't enjoy it but he and I weren't really involved like that. We weren't supposed to be.

There was a knock at the door which made me flinch. Arthur woke up with a start. He was obviously scared by me moving.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he reacted faster than I thought. I slid over to my side of the bed and sat up. He sat up as well and we looked at each other for a moment. Our eyes met and a second later we burst out with laughter. The knock came again. Arthur stopped and got up, going to get the door. I lay back and pulled the covers over my head out of embarrassment. That was sufficiently less than awkward…. I hoped.

"Mom what do you want?"

"I hope I didn't wake you too," I heard her saying.

"You kind of did," he laughed. There was a silent or hushed interaction between the two since I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"No yeah sure thing…" he said closing the door. I sat up and looked over at Arthur.

"Wants us to have breakfast with her in the dining room." He said rolling his eyes. "Has some 'important business,' she would like to discuss with us."

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed. I still had to impress but I only had that one dress. I slipped on my next fancy outfit. White jeans, colorful sandals, and a flowy purple top, I hoped it would do. Arthur dressed more casual to meet my standards. He wore khakis with a nice solid blue polo. We headed down the stairs and he led me, as usual, since I had no idea where we were going.

As we approached his parents I could feel my heart beating faster and faster. I saw the both of them. Penny an outfit similar to the one she wore yesterday. A high neck dress, this one was orange however with a black belt, and she wore black sandals. Rich wore a suit, something that I thought suited him better, just like suits always looked stunningly handsome on Arthur.

"Arthur could I just speak to you for a moment?" Rich pulled at Arthur's arm. Plan was to always stick together when we were around his parents, otherwise we could be caught and make up a lie that wasn't accurate to the rest of the story of lies we had created.

"Come Ariadne… you can come with me, we can start to eat." Penny pulled at my arm. I reluctantly looked at Arthur who nodded for me to follow his mother. I took a deep breath and headed her into a dining room. It was large, just like every other room. There was dark wood paneling all along the walls and the windows faced the outside, giving a better view of the forest than anything else. Still there was enough natural light to blind someone. We both took seats on opposite ends of the large dining table. There was food that was already set out. I realized how hungry I really was and wanted to dig right into the bacon and eggs.

"So Ariadne who was that on the phone last night?" Penny asked of me as she waited for Arthur and her husband to return. I felt my eyes widen slightly. Last night had been awkward to say the least, not just the call.

_For the rest of the day we had both decided that it would be best if we just relax and try not to encounter his parents. This included a full tour of the house, and all the places that held secret passageways we could use whenever we needed. He also made sure to get out of dinner by saying that I wasn't feeling well and just making bagel bites instead. That was all right with me though, I preferred bagel bites to whatever else we might have had. _

_I knew there was going to be more than one problem that day though. We had headed back up to the room. Finally ready to actually sleep. I sat up as he came out of the bathroom. He only wore a towel, this time I was sure he didn't have any pants on. My eyes flickered from the movie I was watching to his wet shirtless body. I turned the TV off and looked over to the bed side table._

_ "Am I the better show?" he asked walking across the room to his suitcase._

_ "Oh," I blushed. _

_ "Don't worry, I'm changing in there, I just forgot my cloths." He answered quickly. I nodded and watched as he went back into the bathroom. I exhaled and lay back on the over abundance of pillows. I wasn't used to this type of stuff._

_ "You know you did pretty well today," he called from the slightly cracked bathroom door._

_ "Really?"_

_ "Aside from assuming that we were rich upperclassmen," he laughed entering the room again. This time he wore flannel pajama pants and a T shirt._

_ "Normally I sleep in my boxers but…" he didn't even need to finish the sentence. I must have looked pretty dumb just sitting there unsure what to do. I had changed too but I was in my normal. I wore shorts and a cami. I hadn't really thought about the sleeping arrangement. I couldn't make him sleep on the floor for the whole two weeks we were there that would just be cruel. It was a king size bed, how much room could we take up. _

_ "Do you want me to sleep in a different room or something?" he asked, reading my mind._

_ "No," I interjected a bit faster than I meant to, "I mean… what if someone found you in there. It wouldn't be too good." _

_ "All right," he said climbing into the bed next to me, under the sheets. He reached up and turned off the light. I shoved off some extra pillows and pulled the main one down for my head._

_ "Ariadne?" he spoke to me in the dark silence._

_ "Yes?" I turned to him. He was an ok amount of space away from me._

_ "Thank you for doing this. I mean… you're a great friend." He said taking my hand. I nodded and watched his silhouette in the darkness. God, why did he have to look so good? I stared. I don't know exactly how much time passed before I realized he was asleep. I heard the sound of his soft deep breaths and watched as his sides moved out and then in. I couldn't help but hope he was dreaming. _

_ There was a knock on the door. I almost had a heart attack when I heard it. Quickly I got up, hoping I wouldn't disturb him. I opened the door and saw a woman there. _

_ "Miss, there is a call for Arthur." She said, "would you like to take it?" _

_ "Sure," I answered quickly grabbing a hotel robe. I followed her down the stairs and into one of the many rooms. She led me into a small room that had a few computers and chairs. There was an old fashioned telephone that sat in the corner. She gestured to the receiver._

_ "Thank you," I waited until she was gone to answer the phone._

_ "Hello?" I whispered into the receiver. _

_ "Who is this?" I immediately recognized the caller._

_ "Cobb?"_

_ There was an awkward silence over the phone before he answered me "Ariadne… is that you?" _

_ I felt myself blush. This was awkward to say the least. Eames and Cobb always teased Arthur and I about getting together after the inception job. They assumed that we liked each other and were perfect. Arthur and I split before we could even confirm or deny their hopes. I had found more work and so did he, unfortunately it hadn't been together._

_ "What are you doing at Arthur's parents?" he asked. I could hear a smile in his voice. _

_ "Shut up!" I cried, "It's a long story. Is there something you needed Arthur for?" _

_ There was a muffled voice over the phone. I could hear little kids' voices in the background. I waited, impatiently tapping my foot on the carpeted floor. _

_ "Well… I was going to call you too… I knew you were both in France… not together of course. But I knew you two were there and I was wondering if you wanted to work on a job?"_

_ "A job?" I was immediately interested. I didn't care if I was at Arthur's parent's house. It would give us an excuse to leave earlier than we planned. _

_ "Yes, in France of course." He answered, "We're coming back and I was thinking we could use the old workshop or something and… well… most of the old team is going to be there." _

_ The words filled me with nostalgic memories. I wanted to take the job and go back. It would save us both from Arthur's parents. Plus we would have a legitimate excuse. We could end the charade before it really had to begin. _

_ "I'll have to talk it over with Arthur," I answered._

_ "Oh right. I didn't mean to interrupt your visit with the in-laws," he teased._

_ "Not in-laws," I whispered, hoping that no one was listening or could hear me, "Like I said long story. I will call you tomorrow with the story ok?" _

_ "Fine. Don't rush yourself though. You two take all the time you want…" I could definitely imagine him with a smirk playing across his face. I rolled my eyes and slammed the phone down onto the holder. I looked around in the darkness. I hurried out of the room almost running into the woman. She stared at me, her eyes held judgment. I pushed my brown hair behind my ears and hurried back up to Arthur's room._

Had she overheard and told Penny?

"The call wasn't for me," I answered as calmly as I could manage. I leaned back in the chair and looked down at my hands in my lap, "It was for Arthur about work. I told him that we were away for now and that work wasn't a possibility."

"Glad to hear you say that," her blue eyes sparkled as I spoke. I frowned and opened my mouth to talk but Arthur beat me to it.

"What are you glad to hear?" he kissed my cheek casually taking a seat beside me. His hand took mine, I threw him a quick glance with a smile. I could feel him move a little closer to me pressing his shoulder against mine.

"Did you tell her?" Rich asked, doing the same with his wife.

"I was just getting to it," she answered.

"Getting to what?" Arthur frowned.

"Arthur… Ariadne… your father and I… well we wanted to… throw you another wedding!"

"Excuse me?" we gasped in unison. Now normally, any other couple that had a small wedding would be happy, in fact more than happy, ecstatic! His parents were rich, meaning you could have the biggest and best wedding but this wasn't the normal circumstances. Being the un normal couple that we were, it was more like hearing that your spray tan was actual three shades more orange than intended.

"What?" Arthur looked between the two of them.

"Well, no one was able to come to your other one… correct?" Penny seemed enthused by the idea. Arthur let go of my hand and put it behind his head, rubbing his neck nervously. I swallowed and tried to fake a smile. What had I gotten myself into?

"You said yourselves that your wedding was small and only a few friends came. Well money is no object for us. We could throw you an amazing wedding," Penny was gleaming with pride. She looked like she was bursting with happiness. "Plus I think Ari and I need to get to know each other a little more." Her blue eyes narrowed on me. I wanted to melt into the background. I didn't know how we were going to get out of this. Work? I had already told her that it was too important that missing work wasn't a big deal. Family emergency? That wouldn't work too well considering we were with his family and mine thought that I was working in the school's summer program. There was no way that we could get out of this, not that I could think of anyway.

"You're kidding… right?" Arthur looked at me.

"Of course not!" Rich spoke this time, "Son, your mother waited all her life for you to get married. You didn't think she was just going to stand by and let you do it secretly…"

Arthur scowled, "We wanted to keep it small and private. More intimate."

"It can still be small…" Penny said the gleam fading from her eyes. "But is it really too much to ask that family attend? Ariadne surely your parents would appreciate it…"

"Actually…" I was going to shake my head but Arthur's eye caught mine, "Yes… thank you." The last words were more of a whisper.

"Great so it's settled." Penny clapped her hands, "I already have the best wedding planner she is amazing. Arthur I think you will be familiar with her work…"

"Will I?" he seemed to be in deep thought.

"Yes its Claudette!"

"Claudette?" his hands became sweaty in mine. I looked at him, but he seemed to forget that I was there.

"Yes, I thought it would be nice for you to see each other again." Penny cooed looking at Rich.

"Why… why would you think that?" he swallowed. I had never seen him so anxious. In fact I had never seen him anything but cool calm and collected. I didn't know who this Claudette was but she sure had made an impression on Arthur.

"I invited her to breakfast so it should be a good chance to talk and start thinking about how we're going to plan this." Penny went on like nothing was wrong. This time I shoved the eggs into my mouth.

"Seems she's running a little bit late…" she said checking her watch. Then as if on cue a voice echoed through the hall.

"Hello hello!" I shivered at the sound of the French accent. I felt Arthur tense beside me. He straightened his back, his eyes widening at the sound of it.

"Claudette!" Penny seemed more than thrilled that the girl was there. Immediately, from the moment she walked into the room I could tell that I had some competition. Just the way Arthur looked at her made me nervous. Not that he was something that I was willing to compete for… but as his fake wife…

"Great to see you darling!" The blonde haired woman said kissing Penny on the cheeks. She had long curly blonde hair with brown highlights that fell to her hips. Her face was perfectly done with makeup and she had large hazel eyes that shone. Her eyebrows were perfect and she had that type of perfume commercial type look about her. She wore tight super skinny jeans with black stilettos. On the top she wore a flowing pink top and a sandy colored shawl around her arms. Sunglasses graced the top of her head.

"Claudette?" Arthur whispered her name.

"Arthur! Sweetie is that you? I wondered why your mother called me?" she turned and held out her arms for him. He moved so fast I could only catch his hand. I squeezed it and made him remember that I was also standing right there. Not that I was jealous, I was just his wife.

"Great to see you!" she said wrapping her arms around him, despite the fact that I was standing right there.

"Ah hem," I coughed as indiscreetly as possible.

"Oh right… Claudette this is my…. Wife," he seemed to choke on the word, "Ariadne. Ariadne this is Claudette my…" He didn't even need to finish the sentence. Ex-girlfriend… I knew it.

"Great to meet you," I said shaking her hand a little more roughly than I intended.

"Oh… Arthur I was under the impression that your cousin was getting married or something… hmmm… you are already considering renewing your vows?" she asked looking between the two of us.

"Not that… they sort of didn't invite us to their first," Penny interjected this time.

"Oh, well I promise to plan the best wedding for you!" she said looking back at me. I immediately saw her eyes looking over me, examining me.

Suddenly a man in a suit came in. He was sweating and I couldn't blame him, it was so hot that wearing a suit must have been a killer. He looked at Penny and Rich, ignoring us at first.

"There is someone on the phone who has questions for you…" the man said looking around the room nervously. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Business, business, business…" Rich sighed getting up. The old couple began to head out into the other room. Something told me they would be doing that a lot.

"So, you're married," Claudette seemed a little hurt by this. Good, she deserved to be jealous.

"Yup!" I said smiling at Arthur. I pulled his arms around me, "We are happily married." Just to show off a little I held out my hand and flashed the diamond ring. She gasped, almost like she recognized it.

"Well… that's great…" she said, "before we know it you two are going to have kids!"

"Ariadne's pregnant actually…"

"WHAT?" I hissed in his ear. He elbowed me in the shoulder.

"OW!" I rubbed my sore arm. He turned around and widened his eyes expectantly. "Oh yeah… yeah definitely." I swallowed, "I um…. Just found out." I grabbed my stomach but it wasn't very convincing because it was more of the 'I'm going to blow chunks' not the loving 'I'm with child' type of clench.

"Really? Congratulations," I could definitely hear the accent in her voice. Damn those hazel eyes and fake boobs. I nodded and looked at Arthur, that was it, this was our way out of the wedding… if only now we didn't need to come up with a baby…

"Just found out," he repeated to get the idea into his ex-girlfriends head. She nodded and shrugged.

"You seem like the maternal type," I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take that as a compliment.

"Well it wasn't exactly planned," I said clenching my teeth with annoyance. Arthur couldn't help but let out a small laugh at this.

"Oh…." She said, understanding, "Well, surely you must be happy… kids… that's great."

She didn't sound too enthused, I didn't feel it either.

"Please don't say anything to my mother," Arthur begged in a quiet voice. This was my turn to laugh. The web of lies was growing by the second. She seemed almost annoyed at this request.

"Don't worry… I just came for the fancy meal and a chance to talk," she said, her eyes examining him. I could see the memories gleaming in them. I couldn't help but want to smack her in the face, her with her stupid pencil eyebrows and her stupid weirdo gold make up. I sighed… ok so she was pretty… I could give her that I guess… but still. I wanted memories with Arthur. I did have memories with Arthur. We had shared dreams and that was a lot in itself but we didn't share real things. We never had a real relationship, even as friends we were more co workers. The thought made my heart sink.

"So I hope you didn't do anything to important without me!" Penny's voice was quickly earning a place on the list of things that pissed me off. I squeezed Arthur's hand and shifted positions in my seat. Claudette flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and looked back at Penny with admiring eyes.

"No, we just had a bit of small talk," she winked at Arthur.

"You'll have to excuse me," I stood up. "I have to go…" I looked around the room for a moment at all the people. Penny stared at me incredulously while Claudette seemed more indifferent.

"Puke." I frowned at my own lie.

I quickly ran out of the room. I didn't know what else to say.

"Ariadne!" I heard Arthur calling me but I didn't stop walking. I pushed my way through unfamiliar rooms until I found one that didn't have to be familiar for me to recognize what it was. It was styled exactly like a small dark pub. I took a seat at the counter and looked at the man who seemed to be setting up.

"Can I get a drink?" I demanded.

"Of course," he seemed a little surprised by my appearance.

"Give me a vodka tonic," I raised my eyebrows. He nodded and turned to make my order. I saw Arthur come up to my side taking a seat beside me, "Usual."

"Of course Arthur," the bartender seemed to know him. Arthur turned to me, "Ariadne… it's going to be ok."

"Really Arthur is it?" I demanded turning to him. What the hell had I gotten myself into? All I was trying to do was a favor. Arthur was my friend and I did want to help him out but I didn't want to be truly married to him and have his fake child. This was just all too much. We had only been there two days and I felt like I was drowning in the lie we had spun.

I rubbed my forehead from the headache that was slowly becoming a migraine.

"So I guess I'll be off," Claudette came into the room. Arthur and I didn't even turn our heads to even try and be nice to her. I could tell he was still nervous around her. The bartender placed my drink in front of me. I took the cold glass in my hand and closed my eyes, ready for everything to disappear.

"Oh you better not have that," she swiped my much needed vodka tonic. Quickly she took a sip of it and winked at Arthur, "Toodles lovelies. See you tomorrow!" We watched as she headed out the door. I groaned and slumped over the surface head-desking the bar counter top.

"Arthur… I'm going to kill you for making me pregnant…" I groaned, "This is getting worse and worse. We're getting married and I'm going to be the graceful knocked up bride… wonderful!"

"No, we will get out of this somehow." He assured me. I stared at him. He looked around the bar, avoiding my eyes. Finally our eyes met. He pursed his lips sympathetically. Slowly his hand pushed forwards his rum jumbey. I looked at him and then the drink, then back up at his puppy dog eyes. I sighed and took a large sip, I hoped this was going to get me drunk enough.

"Wait!" he stopped me. I swallowed and froze, "What?"

"The baby!" he joked.

"Arthur!" I screamed with a laugh. He beamed and tried to make a run for it.

"You won't get away that easily!" I laughed, starting to chase him.

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! Man I really love this support! Bad news though… going to be away for Thursday through Saturday so my internet will be limited to my phone… aka no updates till I get back that night. Sorry!**


	4. 2 Dreams 1 Reality

**Well I had a great vacation but it was packed with stuff to do like I woke up at six and didn't return until 11 all nights so it was really tiring and I had like NO TIME to type so I did it as soon as I got back and then didn't finish until just now so here we are Sunday night… my bad! ENJOY!**

I fixed the end of the dress by shaking it higher up. As I let go I let my fingers linger along the material, dancing along the lace. It felt nice and looked good too. I reached up to the back of my hair and felt the extra material of the veil. I pulled it forwards in front of my face. I loved the design of it, specially made. To finish off I picked up my flowers and held them in front of me. My eyes found their way to the mirror. I stared at myself unsure if the moment was even real. I smiled, I was getting married.

"Sweetie you look gorgeous!" My friends cooed.

"Ariadne…" My mother approached me, tears in her eyes. She pulled me off the stool and into her arms, my face falling into her all too familiar brown hair that I had inherited.

"You look… stunning… " she breathed in between sobs.

"Thank you mom," I smiled breathing in the sweet perfume that I associated with my childhood. I was glad that my parents were there. It was one more thing to make the day even more perfect.

"Are you almost ready… everyone else seems to be. No rush though, after all you are the bride…" she said putting me back at arm's length looking over me once more. I shook my head, "Ready."

"Let's go," Someone said. I looked around the room and people began moving out of the small room where we had gotten dressed. I actually didn't really think the bridesmaids dresses were that bad. They were a royal red color. They fell to the knees and actually flattered most of the girls who had their hair in curls. They all carried white roses. I carried red ones. We headed down the hallway and came out to the front where some of the others were standing waiting. I could hear guests chattering in the other room.

"Ready?"

"Dad?" I turned. I couldn't believe he was there, not in his condition anyway.

"Sweet heart," he smiled. I threw my arms around him. he was significantly taller than me but that just made me feel better. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed, "You look amazing."

"Thank you," I said, hoping that I wasn't going to ruin my make up by crying.

"Are you ready to get married?" he asked taking my arm.

"I am… I love him," I said quietly. Music began to play. Everyone seemed to quiet down and get into place. I didn't really care anymore, this was a formality. I just couldn't wait to actually get married, this was it. I was finally going to be happy, to share my life with someone I loved who loved me.

The hall was beautiful. It was packed, of course. There were a lot of people there all dressed up and ready to see me. Rose petals lined the aisle and flowers were everywhere. It was what I had always thought it would be.

Everything seemed to blur together. People stared at me as I entered and the music changed to the traditional tune, but I zoned it out. My eyes went to the only person in the room that mattered, the one that stood at the altar. He wore a black tuxedo and a red bow tie. I exhaled slowly when I saw him, I had to contain my excitement. I bit my lip when I saw his reaction. I had to contain myself from laughing. His eyes changed, widening to a look of astonishment. His smile widened.

As we reached the front I realized I was nervous. My heart beat so fast it was a continual thrumming. I knew people were talking, something that was a part of the ceremony but I ignored it. Still focusing on him and only him. My father kissed me on the cheek and left, did everything happen that fast? I took a step forward and joined hands with Arthur.

"Hi," he mouthed to me.

"Hi," I couldn't help but smile at his reaction. His hands squeezed mine tightly, "You look amazing."

"Thanks… you too," I said my eyes moving along his tuxedo.

"I love you," This was more of a whisper than anything else. I mouthed back the words.

"Ariadne?" I turned around. The magnificent scene was gone. The hall was empty, no chairs, no nothing. There weren't any flowers or people or any sign of a wedding. My beautiful dress was gone, reduced to my normal clothing. Jeans and a tee shirt, of course. I looked back where Arthur had once held my hand, but he was gone as well.

"Arthur?" I headed towards the exit.

"Where are we?" he asked looking around. I blinked, "What… you don't know?"

"No… this is your dream," he said slightly confused. I sighed, of course it was a dream. Why wouldn't it be a dream? I didn't like Arthur, and Arthur didn't like me, this was a totally platonic thing. But if that was true… why was I dreaming about marrying him?

"What are you doing in my dream? Never mind…" I laughed nervously, "Let's get out of here." I took his hand and headed back out into the hallway which was now just shadows. The sunlight was gone and the sky threatened to rain.

"What were you just dreaming of?" he asked looking back. I refused to turn around, I didn't want him to guess. I hoped that he hadn't seen anything.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. He frowned, "That's not true…"

"How do you know that?" I was a bit frustrated. He was starting to slow down. I needed us to get out of there.

"You were dreaming about getting married, weren't you?" I turned in time to see him smile. I licked my lips, "How would you know?"

"I have ways… that and I saw you in a wedding dress, at an alter, holding hands with someone." He answered slyly. My blood stopped flowing, "Did you see who he was?"

"No," This time I could see by the look in his eye he really hadn't seen the person.

"Oh," I exhaled slowly. The smile returned to his face, "Was it me?"

"No," I lied smoothly, "Ex-boyfriend I was supposed to marry." What a lie that was. I had never gotten that serious with someone before. I had had many boyfriends but none were ever ready or mature enough to commit themselves like that. It took a real man, an older man, to really truly be ready for marriage.

"Oh," Was that disappointment I heard in his voice? "Well that was some dress…"

"Thank you," that was one compliment I loved, "I have always wanted to wear it… it's my dream dress…"

"Oh really?"

"Yes," I pulled him through a pair of double doors and we were out on the street. I brushed off my jeans and sweater, I didn't really make sure of anything since it all kind of happened so fast.

"Well why don't we go out a little. Explore this dream," he said looking down the road.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we have to know each other a little more before my parents start asking questions so why don't we do it where it's safe?" he asked. I couldn't protest to that. Now was the perfect time. Though I was a little mad that he interrupted my dream. I was starting to lose them, like they had said I would, so each dream was a treasure to me.

"How long do we have?" I looked up at the sky.

"About… an hour and a half," he confirmed looking at his watch and then up towards the sky. I don't know why we always assumed dreams were 'under' but it was weird to think of it any other way.

"Then let's go, I have the perfect place we can go." I pulled him along down the road.

Since it was my dream I could really do whatever I wanted. If we were learning about each other's history then why not take him to the one place that was basically mine as a kid? We walked down the street. It had been a long time since I had been able to create while in the dream. Usually things had to be planned out so projections couldn't find the dreamer and attack. People wandered the streets just like that first dream, but I knew those were Arthur's projections.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked looking around as the world began to change. Buildings went up and fell down as I reimagined the place that I had once lived. I knew it was "dangerous" and "a way to lose track of reality" but we both knew it was a dream and there was no chance of going under anymore or not waking up once the timer went off.

"A place that I once called home," I turned onto a street and we headed down a line of buildings that were right up against each other. I pushed onto a door and heard the familiar bell above, signaling someone. The restaurant was small but cute. Pictures and posters from the 70's hung around the walls on the light wood paneling. Ceiling fans worked to keep just the right temperature and there were small groups sitting quietly talking in the booths. I looked over at the counter where I saw some workers who had once been my friends.

"This is my dad's restaurant." I pulled Arthur down into a seat. He looked around the place. His eyes lingering on each picture. My parents were name droppers if you ever saw them, and as a way to show off they made sure to get every autograph humanly possible to obtain and hang it on the walls of the business.

"I was born and raised in Canada until I was about… ten, then we left for California and I lived there until I went to college in Paris. Which is where I met you. But this is my first memory of Cali… My dad brought me to this place… it was a dump and well after that he fixed it up and I spent all my time here." I smiled at the memories. His hand moved on top of mine, but I picked up the menu to deflect it.

"Can I get you two something to drink?" A waitress in a red top, khaki pants, and a brown apron came up to the table.

"I'll have water,"

"me too," I didn't really feel like eating, I just felt like being there.

"Sorry if it bores you it's just the basics. You know… know a little about myself and my family." I laughed.

"No, I don't mind at all." He answered quickly, "What about your mother?"

"My mom is the one who inspired me to be an architect actually," this was something that I knew I would go on and on forever about if someone didn't stop me. "She was an architect and she taught me a lot and it really helped when I went to college they said I was great and I think it's all because of her. It's funny actually. I'm a dreamer now… and an architect. My mom was too, only she didn't know you could make a living out of dreaming."

"Are they still here… in California?" he asked, our eyes finally met. The waitress came back and put down glasses on our table. I hadn't even given a thought to what I was eating, but I knew the menu by heart.

"Yes… well my dad has to fly a lot… he's sick," I said avoiding a bullet. That was something that wouldn't be necessary for later and I didn't really want to discuss.

"Would you two like to order?" the waitress took out a pen and pad of paper.

"Oh I'll have whatever," I flicked the paper off the straw.

"I'll just share," he said looking over at me. The waitress didn't really care since she left quickly.

"What about you?" I got off the subject, "What do I need to know about you as a kid?"

"Oh… me? Well I was born in Washington D.C. but we moved when I was two to England to live with my grandparents and my father and grandfather worked on the hardware store together. Very simple as a kid, you know the usual. Nothing inspired me to become a point man… wanted to be a private investigator because I loved that whole suit and tie to work thing but turns out you can have that in this job as well and you get payed better." He laughed.

"Anything else?" I took a sip of my water.

"I was a nerd." I couldn't help but laugh, "You were a nerd?"

"Yes, very much so. Let's see Pokémon was life until I was eight. Then I moved on to comics and my favorite is Batman. I love batman," he laughed at himself. Arthur didn't seem like a nerd at all.

"The more I look at you I can see it!" I teased. He rolled his eyes and took his water.

"So are all your dates like this?" I wondered aloud.

"Like what?"

"Only in your dreams? Not real?" I smiled. He rolled his eyes, "ha. Ha. You are just hilarious aren't you?"

"So funny!" I agreed. There was silence between us. But I didn't want that to end. It gave me time to think. Did I actually like Arthur? Did I like him in that romantic sort of way… I did…

"So is that what this is?" he moved his hand across the table to mine. I didn't pull away this time.

"What, what is?"

"Is this a date?" he raised one eyebrow.

"I thought so…" I answered with a small smile. He leaned back in his seat, satisfied with the answer. I looked over at the people who were sitting in the restaurant. They all were staring at me.

"Arthur?"

"Yes" he seemed to be distracted.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" I whispered.

"I don't know…" he said, he looked panicked almost. "Let's get out of here!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the booth. We practically ran out of the restaurant and back onto the street. There seemed to be more people there though. Quickly he led me down the sidewalk.

"Ow!" I bumped into one of the projections. Though, instead of stopping the person turned, "I am so sorry, you have to forgive me." They turned and kept going. I frowned, these weren't normal projections.

"You look beautiful," a man came up to me. I frowned as he kept walking.

"Arthur… what's going on?" he was walking ahead. I stopped. They were all approaching me.

"You're so pretty!" someone called starting a round of compliments that more people began to shout.

"ARTHUR!" I called. "Arthur what the…" More people came forwards. They were starting to close in on me.

"Ari! ARI!" Arthur was screaming to find me. This was it thought, projections were closing in. Good or bad I guess they could wake you up. People reached out taking my hair. More and more compliments came from them as they all shouted at me.

"You are funny!" someone offered.

"You are really sexy," ok that one made me laugh and blush. Was this what Arthur thought of me? That was cute! He couldn't control his mind from attacking me with compliments.

"Arthur!" I called out again. I was completely closed in until hands reached out. I clenched my eyes closed and opened them. I sat up and looked around the room. Arthur was still asleep on the floor beside the bed. I lay on top of the covers. We were both connected to the familiar PASIV that was still hissing, trying to keep him under.

"Sorry about that," Arthur's eyes flew open. I laughed, it was more funny than anything else. I decided it was not the best time to confront him though. I could see how that would be embarrassing.

"Want to go under again?" he asked looking at his watch, "This time I will choose the place."

"Sure… better than being around here." I said looking at the room. He sighed and fixed the machine. I lay back down and waited. He must have pushed the button since I fell back asleep immediately.

When I shook my head I looked around, confused. It was the hotel. We stood outside on the terrace. I wore jeans and a tank top this time though. Sunglasses sat atop my head, my hair in a bun. I pulled it out quickly, I hated my hair up.

"Hey!" Arthur appeared beside me.

"Your idea of a date is your parent's house? God you are a nerd!" I laughed.

"It would be a nice place if my parents weren't here always," he said as he took off his shirt. He always wore suits but now all he had was a tee shirt and swim trunks. This was out of the ordinary. I felt myself freeze. He frowned, "You ok?"

"Fine!" I answered a bit too quickly.

"I am going to swim," he answered. I looked around the place nervously, almost expecting his mom or dad to walk out and say his name in that parental way they did. But no one did come. I sat back on the lounge chair as he dove into the pool headfirst. I slipped on the sunglasses and watched. Hopefully he couldn't see through them to see that I was staring at him. This wasn't going to work out vey well.

I got up and headed to the side of the pool. I knelt down on the stone and looked into the water. He resurfaced. He shook it and splashed me slightly. We both chuckled softly, not really thinking about anything.

"Can I help you?" I smiled leaning over. His hands came out of the pool and he folded them on the bricks. I backed up a bit, "What are you doing?"

"Come in," he smiled fixing his hair by shaking it. I shook my head.

"Come in!" he pleaded with me.

"No!" I said quickly. He reached out and grabbed my hand. I struggled to stay out of it but he pulled and yanked me in. As I hit the water, I immediately felt the bubbles around us, cushioning me. I swam to the surface.

"Arthur Fredrick!" I screamed his name loudly. I hated the feeling of wet jeans.

"Sorry… I slipped?" he tried to excuse himself with one of those smiles that I just couldn't resist. I sighed and went under again, admittedly the it did feel nice. As I swam under the surface of the water Arthur took my hands in his. Our bodies floated closer together like the universe was just urging us together. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his. I had honestly never had an underwater kiss but it was probably the best kiss I ever had. It was unexpected and nice.

Suddenly I heard an echo in the water. We pulled apart. I could hear it faintly… it was music.

"How much time did you put in? Have we been here that long?" I resurfaced.

"No… I set it to only a couple of minutes. We have an appointment with Claudette today." He answered looking around.

"Is the dream going to collapse?" I headed for the side of the pool. There was a deafening crack in the air. I looked up at the building and saw the top begin to cave in.

"Does that answer it for you?" he called. I pulled myself out and looked around.

"Do you have a gun?" I screamed as the building began to fall. The ground was beginning to crack. I hated when dreams collapsed I would rather wake up by being shot.

"Yes!" he said getting out of the pool. We both looked down on the ground, of course this was a dream, you could think about anything and it would be there. He picked it up.  
>"Could I…" I trailed off as he picked it up and aimed at me. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was back in the room. I sat up and breathed a sigh of relief. I shivered the picture out of my head and took the needle out of my arm.<p>

"You ok?" he looked over at me. I put my cord back into the familiar machine and nodded, "Yeah I…"

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" he was annoyed.

"Your mother wanted me to tell you that Miss. Rousseau is here." Someone called back in. Arthur rolled his eyes, "Claudette."

I clenched my teeth. Quickly I got up and snapped the top of the PASIV shut. I handed it off to Arthur who usually took care of it. Today I was specifically wearing something that was going to make her jealous of me immediately. It was a short white skirt that I had pulled up higher than normal and a short sleeved aquamarine shirt that came down lower than my comfort level liked but for today it was exactly what I wanted. Arthur wore his normal.

"Ready?" he sighed as he packed away the PASIV. I nodded, deciding we would talk about the kiss later. Besides like everything else about this vacation, it wasn't real. Our hands came together as it did out of habit by now. I could tell that he was tense, nervous about seeing his ex again maybe?

"Arthur, Ariadne we were beginning to wonder where you were." Penny greeted us as we came into the room. I was beginning to hate eating, every time we met up with his parents was either at lunch or dinner, I was beginning to sleep in later to intentionally miss breakfast.

"Yeah I had a doctor's appointment…" I lied, "Up really early."

"Yeah… I just went along." Arthur said squeezing my hand a little tighter than comfortable.

"Not feeling well?" a line creased in Penny's newly beautaxed face.

"Oh well… no I just, had a check up," I swallowed. I didn't really intend for it to happen but it was going along with the other lie Arthur told Claudette. Dismissing it I sat down in the seat furthest away from his parents.

"Well anyways." Claudette interrupted. It was the first time I noticed her. I scowled when I saw her though. She wore a tight pink dress that hugged her curves. She wore a low neckline too, but it was something that would make me blush to think about even going out into public with it. Her hair was curled and she had on dark make up.

"Well since this is more of an almost family thing I can pull almost any strings for any venue and any date." She said biting the end of her pen. Her eyes were down in a large white binder.

"Yes, let's pick a place first." Penny said leaning over to see the list of placed that Claudette had picked out. They talked quietly for a moment.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Arthur whispered in my ear. I shook my head.

"We have to talk," he whispered.

"I know," I said as quietly as I could manage in the almost silent room.

"Ok pretend like we were just whispering something… natural," he said, his breath tickling my ear. I smiled and laughed. He pressed his lips to my cheek. Yeah, act natural.

"Kiss her on the lips. It's fine, we're only your parents," Penny laughed. So they had been paying attention! My eyes flickered to Arthur. I knew there was going to be hesitation on his part, so I leaned over and our lips hit each other. To be honest it was one of the best kisses I had ever had. Even for that small moment in the dream I had been taken by him. Our lips pressing together in a passionate kiss that surprised us both.

"Worth a shot," I whispered to him. He laughed and looked away. I looked back to his parents with a smile. Rich turned away. I got the impression they didn't really think that we would kiss in front of them. I looked back over at Claudette who was just writing things down, but by the way her face was scrunched up I guessed that she was annoyed.

"Could you excuse us for two seconds?" Arthur stood up taking my hand.

"Of course," Penny looked confused. Arthur turned and pushed me into the hallway. I think we were both laughing once the doors behind us closed. I felt light headed. I was too happy to contain myself.

"What the hell was that?" there was a smile on his face. I shook my head, "Don't ask what possessed me because I have no idea." Our eyes met again. I stared. The smile faded from his face. It all happened in a second. His arms wrapped around my waist pulling me into another kiss. This time he kissed me several times. I didn't protest.

"Wait, wait," he pushed me away from kissing him again. He obviously didn't want it. We were just taken in the moment, it was nothing.

"We have to go back in there," he said moving his eyes to where the light came from. I groaned and rolled my eyes. That meant that he did want more, he just was thinking about his parents first. How romantic? I shrugged the thought away. It didn't matter. Fact was we were more than friends… but what now?

**Hope you enjoyed the little thing yeah… anyways I plan to update soon but I don't know exactly when but thanks for reviewing! Awesome response guys, I just love it! :}**


	5. The Bee's Knees

**A/N Sooo I found out the result of forcing myself to write during writer's block = a very pissed off Ari… so I apologize (though I kind of like the outcome…) OH I have decided the rating needs to move up to M… lol yes… there is some description in this chapter and for that I apologize as well :) Oh and HAPPY FINALLY SUMMER :)**

**WARNING****: RATING MOVED UP TO "M" DUE TO THIS CHAPTER! (just in case you don't read author's notes)**

"Thanks for coming with me to… ah… shop for dresses," I forced the words out.

"No problem. Who else would do the job?" Claudette pulled her bag onto her shoulder as she got out of the car. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she and Penny joined hands. I dreaded the day but I knew it was going to happen. Two months wasn't a long time to plan a wedding. Booking a venue and setting a date were the most important things… right under the dress of course. Penny had insisted, but I had gotten out of it… until today. Rich assured me it was going to be 'the bee's knees!' and it would give him and Arthur some, 'Male Bonding Time'. Both of those phrases scared me.

"Ari, look happy, it's your wedding dress!"

"I'm more than… ecstatic," I answered feigning a smile. Penny and Claudette waltzed right into the shop making me feel out of place. Then I actually entered feeling even more out of place. All the people there looked like Penny and Claudette, stuck up and so sure of themselves and their egos. I sighed and tilted my black hat. Today I hoped that I didn't look so completely out of place. I wore a black hat and had my hair pulled to the side. I decided to look a little more preppy than usual. I wouldn't know how to describe the rest of the outfit. Since I was never one who cared about fashions and their trends. I wore a simple blouse and a sweater over it. Then for the bottoms I had decided to wear black jeans and flats.

"Come on Ari!" Claudette called over her shoulder.

"Hello Penny, long time no see…" a woman who was about the same age as Claudette hugged my 'mother in law' and then Claudette herself.

"So I got so excited when I heard you were coming in. Claudette, did Arthur finally pop the question?" the woman flashed a white toothed smile. I hated her already. She was another one of those preppy types. She had curly dark brown hair that was close to black, her eyes matched. Her skin was naturally tan and she was very tall.

"No, actually… he's married. We are here for his wife's renewal vow ceremony," Penny and Claudette broke apart and motioned to me. I came forwards and smiled slightly. This girl was tall. She looked down at me with heavily caked on makeup.

"Oh," That was dismay I heard in her voice. Her eyes seemed to shine though.

"My name is Ariadne," I said sticking out my hand.

"Nina," she replied, not taking it. I frowned and folded my arms.

"It's fine Ni." Claudette brushed her straightened hair behind her shoulder. Together they looked like they should have been on the cover of Slut Monthly. Nina wore a black pencil skirt that was way too short for someone as tall as her and a low neck black blouse. Claudette wore an even worse outfit, a short white denim skirt, a large green shirt over a white cami that exposed her a little too much, revealing an ungodly tattoo that had Arthur's name. I shuddered, hoping he didn't have a matching one with her name somewhere. Though unlike her I might have the chance to see if there was. That made me smile.

"So, shall we get to the dresses?" Nina turned and led us into the show room. Normally I would have loved to dress shop. In fact it was a literal dream I had. I had seen every Say Yes To the Dress episode ever put on the air. It was something I always looked forward to and never thought I would dread as much as I did that moment.

"First I would like to speak to the bride for a moment. You ladies can take a seat."

"Ok, thank you Nina. Remember, money is never an issue," Penny waved. I clenched my fists and followed Nina into the changing rooms. She hesitantly closed the door and faced me. A smile lit up her face as soon as she was inside.

"Look I know that you are friends with Claudette and probably wanted her to marry Arthur and I am the bitch and…"

"You're funny," she laughed.

"What?" I shook my head, I hadn't heard her.

"You think that I am friends with that… that…"

"slut?" I offered hopefully. She smiled and titled her head, "Don't worry Ariadne. I hate her and she didn't deserve Arthur… ever…"

"Are you another ex girlfriend?" I frowned. She took a seat on the lone stool in the corner. I leaned against the wall.

"No, I was friends with them both in high school though. She was the queen bee. Head Cheeleader and she didn't even know how to do a back handspring… hell she didn't know what that was. She always got the hottest guys, Ian, Paul, Keith and Arthur. I am glad someone like you got to stick it to her." She smiled devilishly. Somehow as much as a compliment she wanted it to be I still took it as an insult. I shrugged it off though.

"I'll try and get the best dress. It's going to be a fight though. I can already tell Claudette hates your guts," she laughed a little.

"Thanks," I felt my shoulders fall. This was increasingly becoming one of the most unexpected experiences in my life. I mean I never thought the first time I went dress shopping anyone would have a conversation such as this, and about something that wasn't even real…. Then again everything that had happened recently was something I never expected to happen to me in my life. Now that I thought about it, it sounded more like a rom com or something crazy like that.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Nina stood quickly.

"I pulled some already. Hope that's ok," Claudette's annoying voice came through the door. Nina rolled her eyes and opened the door.

"Thank you dear." She took the dresses and hung them up. I closed my eyes and waited until the door was closed again to speak.

"They're hideous aren't they?" I opened one eye to see them. Yes, of course they were. Nina shook her head, "Don't worry… I have a plan."

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"There you go," the waitress set the last of the plates down on the table.

"Sorry about your drinks. They'll be out in a moment," she turned. Swiftly she dodged the tables and headed back inside the café. Claudette rested her chin in her hands as she smiled at Penny and me. I sighed and took a sip of my water. We unfortunately had not been able to pick out a dress. This was bad for two reasons. One, I knew I would have to go again. Two, I had looked pretty good in all the ones I had tried on, and was convinced that Claudette would not give up until I was wearing the ugliest dress they made. Therefore I was going to wear the ugliest dress ever.

"That was..."

"Tiring." I grumbled underneath my breath.

"Cheer up Ari, we'll make sure to find one that makes you look stunning," Claudette flashed her bright smile. I rolled my eyes. The plan hadn't worked. Nina and I had picked out good looking alternatives to every dress Claudette offered and they all looked good, but after a while we were forced to try them on. The sad part was I didn't look half bad in any of them. They weren't exactly my style but they didn't look bad.

"I really don't think that ball gown dress looked bad," Penny frowned.

"Yes, none of them looked bad," Claudette smiled, "but we want her to look stunning. Fabulous… like a queen right?"

"I'm no Kate Middleton. You don't need to stress yourself looking for Princess Diane's dress," I answered flatly. Claudette narrowed her eyes and straightened her posture.

"Here you are," The waitress put down drinks in front of the others. I slumped even further into my seat. Of course, no occasion would be complete without alcohol. Something I couldn't have anymore, not if I was going to continue with this charade anyways… There was a moment of awkward silence. I wished for someone to say something so I didn't feel so weird.

"So Ari, where did you meet Arthur?" Claudette asked politely.

"Oh…" I stiffened, I preferred the awkward silence, "We met in Paris… I was studying and I had a job, new at my firm and he had a friend, a coworker of mine and we sort of met through him… I guess you could say." I looked over at Penny. That was the story Arthur had given his mother. According to him that was how we met and we went out for two years before 'eloping' and then we lived in Paris ever since because I was still in school. All I had to do was stick to the script and remember the new lies later so I could fill Arthur in so he could back me up on whatever I said.

"I'll be back," Penny stood up quickly, "I just have to use the rest room,"

"Of course," Claudette took a sip of her drink. I desperately wished for a drink. One sip of something heavy to get me through the rest of the day.

"So…" she crossed her legs and that devil smile crept onto her face.

"So…" I thrummed my fingers on the table cloth. I was still adjusting to this whole classy, always fancy meal style. My idea of lunch back home was noodles in a cup or if I got really fancy, leftovers from dinner.

"Does Arthur still like it kinky?"

"Excuse me?" I felt my face turn crimson.

"I was just wondering… didn't mean to make you uncomfortable…" she tipped the glass. I ground my teeth for a moment, that was her only goal. Little did she know the most Arthur and I had seen of each other was what one might see when they were going to the beach. Hell, in fact, before yesterday I had only seen him covered in his suits, the most undressed was when he pushed his sleeves up.

"Well," it was time to turn the tables.

"Arthur loves to get… kinky" I licked my lips, "I swear I have scars from the handcuffs." I rubbed my wrists, "We both get really into it. I'm talking chains, whips… Oh god, he's so good. I mean… Oh sorry you probably already know."

Set point and match! She took the final swallow of her drink and slammed the glass down on the table. The knuckles in her hands were turning white as they clenched into fists.

"Sometimes he is really romantic though. Candles, roses, and for special occasions like that I treat him with French Lingerie…" I flashed her a smile and brought water to my lips. If I just imagined it was rum it could totally taste like it right?

"I guess we should be surprised this one didn't happen sooner." For once I rubbed the skin sweetly. Her eyes were as cold as ice. Daggers that stared at me with pure jealousy.

"Oh sorry," I frowned, "I didn't mean to make you… jealous."

"You aren't stupid. I've gathered that much about you… You and Arthur are… different than most couples I've seen," that was more than an understatement.

"There is a weakness there, and we both know that Penny is rooting for _me_. She wants _me_ to be with her son, it will happen. His mother is on my side, even if she pretends to like you, or maybe she does. It doesn't matter though because she knows I am better for him. Besides he likes me, loves me. No matter how much he says he loves you, he loves _me_. No matter if you're the mother of his kid, he wishes it were _me_. In high school he and I were voted cutest couple and most likely to get married… and trust me… I fully intend to marry him." The fire in her eyes was hotter than the sun. I was calm as I set my water glass back on the table. I took off my hat and put it down on the table.

"Well," I chuckled, "Arthur and I have something you could never have. I am the literal girl of his dreams. He will never leave me for you or anyone like you." That was one thing I knew. Arthur was above people like this. Stuck up girls who acted like Barbie. Just as stupid, just as plastic. I straightened out my blouse and calmly waited for her response.

"You just wait _Ari_," she twisted my name with her accent that I was starting to think was fake, "By the time your wedding rolls around, he and I will be having an affair and that I can assure you of."

"Back!" Penny sang the words. "What were we talking about?"

"We were just discussing your son." I answered cooly.

"Oh what about?"

"Nothing… just high school things," Claudette was still angry.

"And family things." I tried to make it sound believable.

"Oh that reminds me. Claudette, I still have to call Lucy… B… whatever. Find out if she can make it home from school," she said picking up her martini.

"Lucy?" I raised an eyebrow. My first thought was, 'another prostitute girlfriend?' but then I realized that my paranoia was just probably getting the best of me, "Who's Lucy?"

"B," Claudette rolled her eyes.

"Arthur's sister." Penny said. Was that annoyance? She didn't like her own daughter.

"It's a shame she couldn't be here. I think she would like you Ari… then again she has all the rest of her life to meet you. I mean after all you are already married." Claudette finished.

"Oh yes, such a pity," Claudette couldn't disguise the disgust in her voice. Arthur's sister? This was only the second time I had heard of her. In fact the first time I had heard about her, I thought Arthur was joking.

"Any who… do you have any siblings Ari?"

"Oh yeah, a brother, Hoyt. He's starting at NYU this fall," I said, glad to get off the subject that was obviously touchy.

"Oh really?" she asked, "I'm assuming we should expect your family at this?"

"Oh…" one more thing I would have to lie about. Of course I would have to tell my parents, it would be suspicious if they didn't show up. Or maybe we could pay people off… like you know, pretend they were my family. It could totally work. Oh god, I was going insane.

"Yeah, I would assume so," I needed the subject to change again.

"Well, it's been fun," Claudette stood, blackberry in hand, "I have to go. I have to work."

"Oh… sorry to hear that," Penny frowned, "I guess. We should head home too. Right Ari?"

"Sure," I perked up at that. Then I remembered we had an hour, if not more car ride back. Though I must have slipped into some weird sleep because not only did I not remember falling asleep I woke up just as we go back home. It was already dark out. The day had been wasted.

"Ari," Penny addressed me. I sat up, "Yes?"

"Could I show you something?"

"Of course," I answered quickly. It was nice without Claudette at her heels. Penny really did seem like a nice person, but I could understand why she wanted someone else for her son. Someone she knew at least. We had just met. We had never talked before and I was already taking Arthur away from her. I was sorry that it was a lie, but I was glad that Arthur wasn't with anyone else.

"You know… I'm sorry about today. I didn't realize Claudette was so… set on getting the right dress…" she said, "Next time we'll go alone."

"Really?" This genuinely surprised me, "Thanks."

"Of course. It'll give us some more time alone," I was quickly starting to learn there was a down side to everything.

"So what did you want to show me?" we headed back into the house. All the lights were on, but as always it was vacant aside from the workers. Penny led me to a part of the house that I had never been to before. Unlike almost every other room, it was small. Though it was nice, cozy. The walls were a minty green color, and the furniture a dark oak, giving it that musty antique feeling. Penny pulled a book, or album, from the shelves that lined the wall. She took a seat on the couch, motioning for me to sit beside her.

"I was thinking… you don't know about Arthur's past… Or you probably do. But you haven't heard his real past," she laughed, "My verson."

"Oh?" I smiled. I actually knew barely anything about Arthur's past. In fact, that was one thing we had failed to go over. All I knew was that he was born in LA, grew up in England, then moved to France, then went to the states to study at Harvard, where he, of course, learned about dreams, and from then on it had been secret. Anything about his actual childhood or teenage years was a blank. He had failed to mention what he was like besides the fact he thought he was a nerd and he and Claudette went out.

"What was he like? He says he was a nerd…"

"Quite the opposite," she opened the album up almost to the back. My eyes poured over the pictures. Arthur wore a plaid shirt, sleeves rolled, and skinny jeans. Leaning against him was Claudette, that was already my least favorite picture. Then there was one of him dressier, a bit more like he was now. He wore a sweater vest, maybe he was a nerd. And khaki pants. He smiled and had his arm around a girl who didn't seem to fit in the fancy setting. She had long straight black hair, the same color as Arthur's. She looked a bit more like Penny though, facially, her eyes were a familiar brown, that was Lucy… B… whoever. If it weren't for her looks she could have fooled me. She wore a black leather jacket and a tight leather skirt with fish net stockings and combat boots. Her makeup made her look like a raccoon in that punk kid sort of way. On her hands were leather gloves. I understood why there was so much dislike for her earlier. Though the picture made me smile.

Finally there was a picture of him in a full on tuxedo. This time he stood behind Claudette, his hands wrapped around her waist. She seemed to be laughing in the picture. She wore a puke green dress, though even I had to admit they looked pretty good together. But only in that model type way, not the actually 'they could be a perfect couple' way.

"This aren't that great," Penny sighed, "He took better pictures when he was a kid. She turned back towards the front. I let out a laugh. There was one of him when he was about five or so. He wore a superman came and goggles. He looked like he was at the beach. Then there was another one of him at a part. It looked like it was Lucy… B…'s party though. She looked normal. Her hair was curly and she wore color. She was younger, of course, but it was definently the same girl. He stood beside her and smiled at the camera, the cake's candles burning away in front of them.

"I think Arthur was a quiet boy. Popular, but quiet. He never got into much trouble and he always got good grades… I don't know why. I always felt like he kept secrets. He was just so… good." She said thoughtfully. I looked down at the pictures of when he was innocent.

"Oh my GOD!" I laughed and stopped her from flipping another page. I pointed to the picture that had caught my eye. He looked like he was in the eighth grade or so, his hair was doing something funky in the front, some weird parting, though the part that caught me was the mouth full of braces. The girl beside him had blonde hair that was put up in that weird way that was the style. Some odd bun, braid, crazy bead thing all in one.

"I don't think he kept secrets from you," I said letting her go on.

"I feel like he always has… even now," Well I couldn't speak for now. The whole reason I was there was a lie… a secret.

"Well… now here's something," she murmured. I looked over and let out another laugh. Arthur in the bathtub. What mother would truly be a mom without showing their kid's significant other baby pictures. I would have to take this later, get some shots of the pictures on my phone. Blackmail maybe.

"Aw he's so cute!" I pointed to the picture of him sitting on the beach it the sand. He wore a batman cape and a pair of goggles. He sat in the sand and looked up at the camera with squinted eyes. I looked up as I heard the door knob creek. Then, beside it there was one of him as an actual baby. He looked like he was sleeping. So peaceful and tiny. I looked up from the photo album. My thoughts interrupted by the sound of the door knob turn and squeak.

"Ari!"  
>"Arthur!" I had never been more relieved to see him in my life. He practically ran to me. I stood up and took two pathetic steps towards him. Our arms took each other's as he quickly locked lips with me. His right hand moved to my face. I pulled away and blushed. That was… weird.<p>

"What were you two talking about?" he asked, taking a step back, recovering from the uncasual moment.

"You," I smirked, "As a baby."

"I hope your kids look just as cute," Penny laughed.

"Yeah Ari," he nuddged me. I froze, our eyes meeting, should we?

"Actually," he looked up, reading my mind.

"Actually what?" Penny was absorbed in the album.

"Well he and I have something to tell you," I said squeezing his hand as tight as I could.

"SHI… yeah!" he exclaimed. I faked a smile and looked up at him expectantly.

"Well… mom… you can't get mad. We sort of just found out ourselves. Ari is pregnant." He said them so quietly I was sure she didn't hear him, that was until she let out a loud shrill shriek. I cringed and braced myself.

"This is WONDERFUL!" she got up and came over to us. Oh yay, more hugs. Once again my hands went down to my stomach but more in the 'puke your guts out' way than the, 'delicate package' kind of way. Arthur put his arm around me, hesitantly.

"How long?" she looked down at my stomach.

"Like… not even a month yet…" I said gritting my teeth, "Maybe more… maybe less…"

"Have you given a thought to names yet?" she probed looking between Arthur and I.

"Yes, I like Trent for a boy and Brooke for a girl…"

"I like Cameron… or John for a boy… for a girl… I don't know I think that I like Bianca, or maybe Zoe," he smiled at me. I scrunched my nose, I hated all those names, Zoe was the only ok one.

"Well… I'm sure you two will agree on something," her eyes glittered as they fell to my stomach. I covered it with my arm. It was still an uncomfortable feeling since I knew that the only thing down there was lunch.

"Mom, where is dad?" Arthur stood suddenly, letting go of me. Penny seemed taken back for a moment, "I think he went to go sort out some issue with the kitchen staff."

"Oh ok… well if you don't mind I think we are going to turn in for the night," Oh I saw how it was. Slip away as casually as possible. We were both beginning to get awkward and this conversation was something I really wasn't ready for. Maybe in two years or so when I was actually married and talking to my real mother in law, whoever she was.

"Oh yes of course. You better get your rest Ari," she winked at me as she adjusted her seat. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. TV? Wow that was something I hadn't done in a while. I had been focused on so much else for a while. I hadn't really thought about TV or the date or the news or anything besides myself in the world for that matter.

"Oh and Ari," she stopped me as I got up.

"yes?"

"Say goodbye to your lovely figure," was that an insult? Or was that supposed to be advice of some sort.

"Right," I laughed nervously, "I anticipate it."

Arthur took my hand again and pulled me out of the room, closing the doors behind him. We both hurried to the front. Of course to climb the mountainous stairs.

"Thank you Ari. I really owe you," he said playing with the ring I wore. I stopped him, turning to face him. He brushed my hair out of my face and planted a small kiss on my lips.

"I know that." I said with a smirk. I heard the hotel phone ring. A noise that was becoming an increasing disturbance. I shook my head, remembering the only calls I had been making.

"There is one thing." I answered. He titled his head, his eyes questioning.

"Cobb called two nights ago… or so." I said looking around the room. Maybe it was a better idea if we went somewhere a bit more private. After all, I couldn't just announce that there was an offer from a notorious criminal to go and do an illegal job of stealing something from someone we didn't even know. Especially when certain people thought that I was having his baby. The whole thing was just messed up.

"With a job offer?" Arthur knew the urgency of it. I nodded.

"We can't," he dismissed it immediately. I slumped my shoulders and pulled him closer to me.

"You said yourself. You owe me… and I don't think it's a bad idea. It's more stressful here than back there and…"

"Look… Ari," his eyes softened, "I'm not going to tell you what to do. You can go ahead. I just can't do the job. I think it's better if I stay here. Go, but we have to set up some… rules I guess. So we're not caught."

"Of course!" I brightened up immediately.

"Come on," he took my hand and pulled me up the stairs, "We better talk about this in private."

"So I have to tell them their reliable point man isn't available?" I smiled as we got back to the room. He chuckled softly and let go of my hand, "I may be the best but I'm not the only point man."

"Of course!" I went over to my luggage. I had been sure to pack my portfolio bag that was always filled with my things. Blue print sheets, pencils, pens, rulers, all the junk that I needed. For some odd reason I thought I might actually be bored on the trip…

"So the rules. You can only go at night, my parents cannot know… or we wouldn't have done this in the first place, oh and you can't drink when your out. First of all, it'll be just you driving and second of all, you can't come back smelling like alcohol and wasted."

"Of course… anything else dad?" I laughed. That wasn't a half bad idea actually. I was just thinking about working but I was craving a drink. A real drink, none of this fancy shmancy champagne crap. Hell, I would have considered absinth if I didn't have to drive.

"No… that's all,"

"So, you're sure that this is ok?" I asked one last time.

"Definently. Just be back before breakfast please," he said before closing the door.

"Wait!" I stopped him from closing it.

"What?" Panic struck him quickly.

"You'll have to tell me all about male bonding time tomorrow," I smiled and pulled my bag full of supplies over my shoulder. I heard a laugh but I was already gone. Quickly I hurried down the steps that were becoming a giant nuisance. I slipped out my phone and dialed Cobb's number. This was going to take a while. As I got to the bottom I tucked myself into a closet.

"Hello?" he picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Cobb… I can do it." I said with a smile.

"Excellent!" he sounded truly pleased, "We are here right now actually. Am I looking for a new point man or is Arthur joining our team?"

"New," I answered glumly, "Don't worry about him though."

"Ok… so do you want to come and just get debriefed tonight or shall we expect you bright and early tomorrow morning?" he continued. Now he seemed a little more distracted though.

"I can't come during the day… too suspicious. I can only do nights… sorry," I crossed my arms.

"What? Why can't you come during the day?" he demanded.

"Long story… can I just tell you when I get there?" I was impatient. I just wanted to leave.

"Yes fine… YES OK FINE!" I cringed at the yelling, "Sorry Ari, Eames says hi and he can't wait to see you again." I couldn't help but laugh. It was the same old Eames and Cobb.

"I can't wait to see you too!" I laughed, "I'm actually really excited about this. I have been thinking about you all day and I am just glad to have the chance to do this again."

"Yes, well I will see you shortly then?"

"About an hour if not two," I replied curtly.

"Ok fine bye!"

"Bye," I shut the phone and hurried out of the closet. I fixed my hair and started for the door of the hotel.

"Ari!" Shit, I cursed under my breath.

"Penny?" I turned to her. She wore a bright pink robe over tan pajamas.

"Where are you headed? It's almost eleven?" God she sounded like my mother. I put my hands behind my back, what was a good lie?

"I just realized I left some things in my apartment that I really need and I have to go back. They're pretty urgent for when I get back to college." Oh shit, did Arthur mention I was even in college? Did Penny even know how old I was? Oh crap, now I looked careless. Who was ready to be married and have kids in college?

"Surely you can get it tomorrow. Remember you are in charge of more than yourself now," she said motioning to my abdomen. I swallowed, grinding my teeth against one another.

"Of course. I will start on that…tomorrow. This is urgent…" I answered. Quickly I turned and headed for the door. Did she hear me? Did the conversation give away anything about the job? Did I say something stupid like point man or dream sharing aloud? Did she even know that I was in the closet?

"Good night," she called behind me as I closed the door. I had to scowl, I was only lying about my life.

**Yeah this chapter sucked. I have writer's block… blame tumblr….**


	6. Lucy B whatever her name is pt 1

**Just thought I'd give you a fair warning: there is some slight rated M description in this chapter as well so… beware ALSO note I did not even look over this chapter like for any mistakes whatsoever so sorry if there is some weird stuff…. Yeah….**

I pushed the door slightly open. I peered around the room to see if anyone was coming. The coast was clear. I let myself in and closed the door as quietly as possible. It clicked and I turned to face Penny.

"Oh hey…" I rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand. The other held coffee, which I would have passed out hours ago if I didn't have.

"Ari… did you just get in?" she asked suspiciously.

"No," I answered a bit too quickly. "I just went out early this morning for my favorite kind of coffee." That was a pretty good lie, I was getting better.

"Isn't that what you were wearing last night?" she looked up and down my cloths. Of course she would remember.

"Yeah. I just threw something on first thing. I'm going to take my shower now." I fixed my bag.

"Ok well. Hope to see you at breakfast."

"Oh yeah… for sure," I sighed, heading back up the stairs. One, two, three, four, wow, it was getting sad that I was actually even thinking about counting the stairs. They were just so annoying. Though it was starting to take me less and less time to reach the fourth floor. I headed into the room and looked around. The covers were undone and the closet was open. The bathroom door wasn't closed though, and the TV was off. Where was he? I walked over to the window and looked out, he wasn't outside, or on the large golf course. Then I looked over at the night stand. Beside the clock was his phone. He _never_ left his phone anywhere.

I dropped my stuff on the floor and opened the doors. I peered down the long unlit hallway. At the far end there was one room, the door was cracked slightly. That was weird, I had thought all of them were locked, except when they were being cleaned. I moved down the hall as slowly as possible, unsure if there were creaks in the floor or not. Someone was talking, two people were. I could faintly make out the voices. They weren't exactly hushed, but they weren't screaming at each other. There was urgency in them though. I thought I could hear Arthur. I leaned in and tried to see if I could see through the small slit but all I could make out was a bed post and a very messy nightstand side.

"You have to stay…"

"Why?"

"You and I are rarely here at the same time…" That was definently Arthur.

"So what?" the other voice answered, "I will come and visit you… wherever… any place but here."

"Please stay… for the ceremony."

"Oh right… renewal vows," there was a sarcastic tone, "That's what normal people do. You already had one wedding, hell, you're rich enough. Why not do it again?"

"Stop, you know it's not like that," he argued.

"Mom," they both said in unison. This person was his sister? I knocked on the door.

"Arthur?" I pretended as though I didn't know they were even in there. There was some noise on the other side. I moved back so it didn't look like I had been listening the whole time. The door swung open. I stood face to face with him.

"Ari," he was breathless.

"What are you…" he stepped aside to let me in. I frowned but went in anyways.

"Damn Arthur!" The girl jumped up. She was the older version of the girl in the pictures. However she had long curly black hair now that fell down to her elbows. She had dark makeup on, heavy eyeliner and eye shadow that really made her brown eyes more prominent. Though she wasn't as goth/punk as she had been in the pictures. She wore an oversized shirt and long dark skinny jeans with high top classic converse.

"She isn't as preppy as I thought… not a freaking brainwashed bimbo." She nodded, impressed.

"Thank you?" I laughed.

"Sorry," she shook her head, "I'm B."

"B?" This was Arthur's sister. Arthur rolled his eyes and cut in out handshake, "Ari, this is _Lucy_." He twisted her name, which only made her scrunch up her nose, "Gross… never call me that."

"Please Lucy… you got B from a stupid character in a movie who was a physcopath."

"She was fucking awesome Arthur."

"Watch your language!" he groaned with frustration. Lucy…B… whoever the hell she was, bounced back onto her bed. This room was different from all the others, personalized. It had white walls, but it was beautiful. Covering the white walls was artwork. A giant mural had been sketched with pen, it looked like. It was an abstract silhouette of a tree. The branches snaked out to all walls. There were also some various other shapes and objects of animals and what looked like two people sitting together beneath the branches. There was barely any light in the room. The windows were partially covered with heavy red velvet curtains. Cds, papers, and cloths were scattered everywhere.

With black painted nails she picked up an ipod and popped in her headphones.

"Arthur get out of my room!" she said, kicking her feet up on her unmade bed.

"Lucy…"

"Unless you stop calling me that, you can get the hell out," she said venomously.

"Fine _B_." he rolled his eyes, "See, you like Ari… can you please just think about staying?" I had no idea what they were talking about. Where else was she going to go? Why would she want to go… I thought back to the conversation with Penny and Claudette, maybe I understood. B looked between Arthur and I. She studied me for a moment, of course she had to see me un-showered and dressed in cloths that I had been wearing for more than twenty four hours now to make her judgment.

"I will think about it," she answered, "As long as you get me breakfast. Mom can't know I'm here."

Arthur nodded, complying silently. He turned, took my hand, and charged out of the room as if it were on fire.

"What the hell was that?" I shook my head, "Here I was thinking I figured every confusing component of this 'vacation' and you bring in something else? I mean we are kind of at the limit with stuff to be dealing with. First, we're married, then your parents insist they give us another wedding, then we find out your ex girlfriend is the planner, oh and did I forget to mention the fact you said I was pregnant? Now you bring in your sister? As if we didn't have enough to worry about. For some crazy reason I thought I might actually be able to relax now…"

"I'm sorry, Lucy has timing like no other. She comes in and leaves on her own accord," he said running his hands through his hair. Quickly he led me down the stairs and we both went into the kitchen. I looked around cautiously. It was a habit that I had fallen into whenever I was on the first floor. Penny usually just stalked about, just waiting for me to come so she could pounce out from behind a wall and start to talk about the wedding or something Arthur related, which wasn't a bad subject, the only thing that made it bad was the condescension that could be heard in her voice. He began running around the kitchen, opening the refrigerator a million times, each time pulling out some other sort of breakfast food.

"I really don't understand…"

"Lucy is seventeen. She goes to a boarding school in the city… I guess she came home early. I am usually the one to care for her though, when she comes home I mean. She likes to go against the administration and skip but usually she leaves to different countries, she rarely comes here," he rambled as he searched through the refrigerator once again.

"Oh…" I really had nothing to offer.

"Do you think seventeen year olds like Captain Crunch or Cinnamon Toast Crunch?"

"Umm…." I turned to look at the cupboard.

"Wait! How old are you again?" I couldn't believe I didn't even know that much.

"Twenty eight," he laughed, "Yeah we're eleven years apart."

"Oh your parents…" I didn't even want to finish the sentence.

"I… MOM!" he almost fell over backwards. I couldn't believe what I said next but I did, "Penny! So great to see you this morning. I was actually looking for you. We have a lot to talk about."

"Oh, Ariadne, of course, you didn't get your…" she faltered, looked behind at the food Arthur was carrying.

"Oh dear God, Ariadne, are you hungry? You must be starving. Arthur you're so thoughtful, getting her all of this," she took the two cereal boxed, toast pieces, and something unidentifiable and pushed it onto the counter in front of me. I resisted the urge to groan aloud and took a seat.

"We do have a lot to talk about. I actually have some lists here I meant to run by you," she said quickly opening the binder in her hand. Of course she would have a list with her.

"I… I just have to go check on some… business things. Besides this is more lady talk." Arthur slipped out of the kitchen. I cursed him in my head and watched as he hurried out of the room. Penny took a seat beside me. Today was casual for her. She wore a tennis outfit, more and more she was looking like that type of person.

"So I was wondering what to do with the dinning plan. I mean we could do either steak or salmon. Up to you really. Then I have the whole color thing. Claudette likes orange but I really think that blue does a nice job." She leaned over pointing to some of the notes she had made. Numbers and various other things were scribbled onto the page of possible wedding dresses. I scowled at all of them, of course they were the ones that had looked the worst on me.

"Where is Claudette today?" I tried to swerve myself off the torture of actually going over wedding plans for the fake real ceremony. I didn't see why I had to waste time on something that was never going to happen.

"Oh she went into the city today. Very important business… something about trousseau," she winked at me. I rolled my eyes inwardly and picked up the piece of toast.

"Penny?"

"Mhmm?" she scribbled something else down.

" I think you can make most of these decisions for yourself. I trust you," I said quickly, "I have to go take a shower. Sorry…" Without another word I slipped down and grabbed the Captain Crunch, heading up to the room.

When I got there Arthur was just leaving.

"Did you need this?" I held up the box.

"Thank you!" he took it and went back inside. I waited patiently.

"Ok so, you're totally right. This should be time to relax. That's what we'll do today… if you want." He added hastily closing his sister's bedroom door.

"Why don't we just do something…" I said with a shrug. I had gotten out of wedding planning for the day, always a plus. Arthur seemed to be trying to ignore his sister and father.

"Sure… I just have to grab something from the room." He pointed back.

"Oh, me too…" I said, looking down at my cloths, "Actually I have to change. Just wait for me, will you?"

I was only extremely aware that Arthur was in the next room over whenever I took my showers and I was when he did. At home I could just lose myself in the warm water soothing my skin. Perhaps even take opportunity of the chance to sing a little Hilary Duff. But with him right there I tried to be as silent as possible. I also made note not to take too long. I could spend a day in the shower if I could, just letting my thoughts melt away in the steam. Now I just hurried to get out and change.

Usually I didn't take much care in my appearance when I first got out of the shower either but now I did. Today was different though. I didn't feel like it. When I stepped out I dried myself as fast as I could, I would just let my hair air dry, I liked it better that way anyways. And I slipped into a pair of jeans, a white tank top and a light blue blouse, buttons undone of course.

I came out, unsure of what the plans were still to find him lying in bed. His eyes were set intently on the television, but he looked a little too into whatever he was watching.

"What are you watching?" I crawled into the bed, trying to make it as natural as possible.

"Eh, channel surfing. I am contemplating Marley and Me or the Notebook…"

"You were watching Iron Man, weren't you?"

"Have you been checking the channel guide or something?" he laughed.

"Trust me… no guy wants to willingly watch a chick flick. He just does it to impress someone… was that what you were trying to do? Impress me?"

"Charm is more the word," he hit the mute button.

"Oh well in that case!" I shook my head. He wrapped his arms around me. His brown eyes gleamed as they looked down at me.

"What's that?" I asked. He shook his head, confusion taking over, "What's what?"

"There was a gleam in your eyes. What were you thinking?"

"Nothing…"

"No, come on! Now you have to tell me!" I hit him in the chest slightly. "That's the one thing that will charm me," I smiled, hoping to coax it out, "Someone who will talk with me."

"Oh really?" He squeezed my arm a little tighter, pulling me closer, "Ok fine… you have a cute laugh."

"You like my laugh?" I repeated slowly, "Why would you keep that a secret?"

"I'm… I'm not sure," he paused looking away, "I'm not sure, where we are…"

"Where do you want us to be?" I sat up and turned my whole body to face him.

"Where doesn't matter," he tilted his head, "I just want to be with you." He moved his hand to run through my wet hair. Oh he knew my weakness. I moved closer to his face. He backed up slightly, pushing against the pillows. He brought me into him, our lips meeting in a kiss that was worth a cheesy tv movie. Slow and sensual.

"I think it worked," he laughed. I smiled and touched his chin with my fingers, "shh…"

His eyes grew serious, hungry. Our lips met again. Then he began to work his way down my neck, kissing the soft skin. His fingers moved their way up my back, sending shivers down my spine. I was pushed down onto the bed. I wanted nothing more for him to pull me closer and hold me tighter. I undid his tie and pulled it off.

"Wait," I stopped him. He froze, "What?"

"Do you by any chance… like… it painful?"

"What?"

"Never mind," I pulled off his shirt. Encouraged he pressed his lips back to mine. His hands grabbed at my waist pulling me on top of him. I pulled off my shirt with two hands and pushed my hair back. He took the moment to pull of his own shirt. I ran my fingers through his hair. His hands moved to take mine. He kissed me over and over, making sure not to miss one spot. I helped pull of his trousers while he sloppily pulled off my shorts. I breathed in between sloppy kisses. He pulled me in closer. His hands went to my shoulders, about to pull at the straps.

"Woah, woah," The door was pushed open. I couldn't help but let out, probably one of the girliest screams in my life. Arthur pushed me off of him. I pulled the covers with me as I fell to the floor.

"Lucy! GET OUT!" he picked up a pillow and threw it at the door. "Don't you knock?"

"LOCK YOUR DOORS! You're already having a kid, no need to try anymore!" the door slammed. Arthur looked over at me and sighed. I stared at him for a moment. I tried to catch my breath. I hoped that she didn't see anything, though there really wasn't much to see, we had only gotten to underwear.

"I am so sorry," he said heavy breathed.

"It's ok," I got to my feet and looked at the messy bed. Our eyes met again. A smile played across his lips. I could feel one edging at the corners of my mouth as well. We both started to laugh. I ventured over to the wall where I had flung my shirt and pulled it back on.

"You don't…" He looked up hopefully but I guess my look shot him down. I shook my head, "No… this was good. Maybe it was… a way… a sign of the world telling us… we're not quite that far."

"Yeah, no, I didn't think so either." He looked down at his hands, defeated.

"Don't worry." I pulled on my shorts and got back onto the bed on my knees. "We still have two months left. Never know how far we'll go." I gave him a soft kiss and got back off, lamely throwing the covers back onto the bed. He slipped out and started to get dressed.

There was a knock at the door.

"Lucy if that's you…"

I laughed and made my way to the door. I opened it quickly, "Please ignore your brother." She smiled at me, "Hey girl! I like you." She winked, "Anyways I was just dropping by to announce that I'm staying and I was going to ask if you two wanted to talk or something but it looked like you two were already pretty busy." She laughed.

"Was that really worth interrupting us?" he demanded.

"Shush!" she raised her hand, "Keep it in your pants. Have some dignity I mean come on… your at your parents house. How romantic can _that_ be?"

"Thank you for stopping by," I started to close the door.

"Wait! I wasn't done!" she slammed her hands on the wood. "There is that annual fair this week. Tonight's the opening night. Just wondering if you were going. Or will you be… doing it?"

"Goodbye!" Arthur came over and shut the door himself. I fixed my shirt and made my way back to the bed.

"You told her all about me?" I asked, almost annoyed.

"Yeah… I had to get her to stay somehow." It was one thing for there to be a lie among a few people but the more and more people knew, the more it came to be real. Even though it wasn't real, it was beginning to feel like it.

"I'm really sorry about that anyways," he said pulling his tie back on. It was a shame.

"There is something else we could do today instead," I perked up.

"Oh really?" even he seemed happier, "What?"

"What was that about a fair?"

"No… no… anything but that! Please. Don't get started. That thing is a teen trap." He rolled his eyes.

"I think we should go… it'll give us a chance to 'just relax'"

"You're really going to make me pay for that aren't you?"

"I'll try my hardest." I smirked. "Come on Arthur!" I was at his side in a second. That's usually what did it.

"No, it's so boring. Usually only families go and its just not fun at all!" he protested.

"Please! It's the one thing your sister wants to do why not make it a condition?" I bribed. He stopped and cast a thoughtful glance over at the door.

"Lucy!" he already made his way over. Arthur flung open the door and standing in the way was Lucy. She had her back up against the wall and wore a black satchel. There was a smug look on her face, as though she had been listening in on us.

"All right… we'll go with you to the stupid fair."

"Boo yah!" she made a fist and pumped it into the air.

"On one condition," this stopped her in her tracks. The smile fading from her face. Her brown eyes darkening like they knew exactly what he was going to say.

"You tell mom and dad you're here," He leaned against the doorway. I got up off the bed and ventured to the doorway. Lucy looked between Arthur and I and sighed, "Fine… I hate you…"

"Love you too,"

**A/N: Today's update comes to you in two parts (this leaves off in the middle of the day and the next update is the same night, though I am not sure when I am going to post that chapter) Also there was a request for more A/A moments and well… I hope this was to your liking :) OH and ONE MORE THING I really am sorry about all the times in this chapter where you can insert a 'that's what she said' joke but I was really having a problem. I was typing and these dirty innuendos were popping up and I was like UM! So sorry :/ Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	7. Lucy B whatever her name is pt 2

**Wow, I wrote this way faster than I thought I would… thank heavens for Packed to The Rafters… without that show this chapter would be nothing!**

Arthur gripped the steering wheel tightly. It was one of the things I noticed he did when he was nervous. It was a cute little quirk that made me like him even more. I turned down the radio knob, I wasn't really in the mood to listen to horribly auto tuned singers and people who sang about days of the week. Arthur turned up the air conditioning, which wasn't really necessary because the car was already as cold as an icebox.

"Are you ok?" I asked, noticing he was sweating.

"I hate fairs." He grumbled angrily under his breath. I smiled and sat back in the car seat. "Then why did you make the terms so easy?"

"I never thought Lucy would ever agree to _that_," he answered. I laughed at the thought of it. The ghostly pale color that blanched Penny's face as she saw her daughter in the hallway. The two wore polar opposite outfits on the day, which of course made it even funnier. It was probably one of the highlights of the trip. The way Penny stumbled to say hello and awkwardly hug. They obviously didn't have much interaction.

"This will only be a bad experience if you make it one… besides I think it will be fun," he was hard to convince. He glanced over at me but didn't bother to say anything. By the way he was acting I was guessing that something embarrassing had happened at a previous fair, or something. Something he didn't want to bring up anyways.

"So you never told me how male bonding time was," I laughed, trying to get his mind off of the fair.

"You never told me how the job went." He countered.

"You still have to tell me about your sister," I folded my arms.

"We have weeks to discuss that," he looked over at me for a moment.

"Just tell me about yesterday for starters, and I will do the same," My eyes focused on the road.

"There isn't much to tell. We basically talked about my mom. We talked about the weather Then we talked about family for a little while, what my cousins are doing and such… then he asked me if things were going ok… marital wise"

"What?" I tensed in my seat.

"Yes, that's pretty much it." He answered, not taking his eyes off the road. "Your turn." I gave him a sour look that he didn't seem to notice.

"Marital wise?" I repeated, "What do you mean. Like… like…" For some reason I always found it hard to say that word. When I was a kid, of course, but even as I got older it was uncomfortable. I liked to use terms like 'get some' or 'did it' rather than 'had…' that word.

"Yes, meaning sex."

"Why is everyone so interested in our sex life?" I demanded.

"I guess it's just something a normal couple has."

"… a normal couple has…" I clenched my teeth.

"Why… did my mom ask you…"

"Oh hell no!" I said a little louder than I meant, "No, it was Claudette." I thought he was going to swerve off the road and hit something. His hands that were wrapped around the wheel seemed to turn even whiter. The car seemed to accelerate faster, going above the speed limit.

"Arthur woah. Calm down, it's no big deal. I just made stuff up to make her…" I would have said happy but I knew the right words would be more along the lines of, jealous and uncomfortable.

"What did you say?" he didn't dare look over at me.

"Arthur if you go any faster we might go supersonic!" I gripped my seat.

"Sorry," the car slowed down back to a normal speed.

"Just forget it. It was something stupid," I looked out the window at the trees that passed by.

"All right," I could tell he was still uneasy.

"How was the job?" he almost barked it.  
>"Well… ok so I got there. God was it good to see them again. Yusuf, Eames and Dom of course. The point man was some guy named Chris. He was nice I guess… no replacement for you though. It's a very simple job. They told me I can do most of the work here since I discussed our situation." I added lightly. It was good and bad. It was good because I could spend more time with Arthur and do work whenever I felt like it, but it was bad because it didn't give me the excuse to leave like I had hoped it would. The job was extremely chill and didn't even have to be performed for a month or so.<p>

"What did Eames say?" he looked over.

"He laughed at you," I smiled, "Cobb said that he wasn't surprised. And he thinks that Claudette is a crazy bitch too."

"What?" The car went a bit faster again. Shit, did I say that aloud? My bad. I ran my fingers through my hair, "Anyways… they said just to drive over there with the work once I'm done. All the information I need I pretty much have."

"It'll be nice to work from home," he slowed down again cautiously. Phew, I was out of the clear for that one. I didn't know why but Claudette was a weird subject for him. It was like he liked her and hated her at the same time. Maybe it was because she was that fake kind of pretty that all guys imagine themselves doing. I shuddered at that thought. Sure I was no Megan Fox, but I hated the fact that he was thinking about other girls. Ugh, jealousy, what an ugly thing.

"We're almost there," he said, his eyes shifting to his peripherals.

The car slowed and pulled onto a dirt road. A large field opened up. I almost gasped. It was a cute little fair. There were tents and various stands set up. There were even a few rides that scattered the area.

"I hate this place," he pulled into a massive lot that was already filled with cars and people directing traffic and heading towards the fair itself. Normally I think I would hate a fair, but today was different. I guess I was glad to get out of the house. Any opportunity was one I was going to take. Going into town with Arthur was a nice change. Even though I knew that Penny, Rich and B were in the vicinity. We could easily get away from them.

"Try to enjoy yourself," I unbuckled my seat belt and hoped out of the car, Arthur joining me reluctantly. We joined arms, that was something that brought a smile to both of our faces. The fairgrounds looked even larger than when we were just coming in. It was busy and so alive.

"Let's try to ditch my parents, this night doesn't have to be unbearably horrible," he looked around as we entered past the gates. I looked around, trying to see if they had gotten there yet. They left a few minutes later so maybe they weren't even there at all.

"Arthur? Ari!" Ugh, I didn't need this right now.

"Claudette?" Arthur stiffened, as he always did when she was near.

"Arthur! I didn't expect to see you two here," she said looking between the both of us."

"I didn't expect to see you here," I countered, "Penny said you were in the city!"

"Well I am on the committee for town events so I had to be here. In fact I just got back," she said, tilting her head with a fake smile. I rolled my eyes and squeezed Arthur's arm tighter, he didn't even seem to notice though.

"Claudette!" Of course Penny would. I turned to see Penny, Rich and an angry Lucy. They joined us.

"Penny darling!" Claudette kissed her on the cheeks as they usually did when they greeted each other.

"Oh…" Claudette's eyes filled with disgust as she saw Lucy.

"Lucy… B…" she rolled her eyes. B raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Good to see you to Claudette." I loved her already. Claudette stepped back, almost as if she were scared of her. This made me laugh and obviously cheered her up from whatever argument she and her parents had been having in the car.

"Hey B," I smiled.

"So you took the nickname?" she high fived me, "I like it. Really rocking it ya know? Feeling it!" Penny rolled her eyes. Arthur pulled me into him tighter.

"B, can we trust you not to set anything on fire… or not to set off stink bombs this time? I don't care if it was near the port o potties, just say you won't do it again." Rich turned to his daughter. Maybe that was why Claudette was scared of her.

"Yes dad," she sighed angrily, "I promise. Now just leave me alone. Go off and drink your mimosa or whatever the hell it is that you rich lottery folk do." She shoed them with her hand. Claudette seemed thrilled at the chance to leave, taking Rich and Penny with her. Leaving just us.

"This is so cute!" I smiled, "This is so adorable. A Ferris wheel! Oh my god, Arthur, we have to go on the Ferris Wheel."

"I might have to…"

"Arthur do not say pass. It's the only ride here I can go on in," I made sure to raise my hands to make air quotes, "in my condition!"

"What's with the air quotes C?"

"C?" I looked over to my side. Arthur rolled his eyes, "B likes to nickname her friends. Though I don't see why you want Ariadne to be named C…"

"Well C comes after B." she laughed, "That and the supe…"

"Do not say it's the initial of a superhero." Arthur snapped.

"Fine, calm down," she raised her hands and quickly stuck them in her leather jacket. With more energy than I thought someone like her would have, she skipped off down the grass lanes.

"Finally! Peace and quiet." He let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around me.

"So about that Ferris wheel," I tugged at his arm. He rolled his eyes but agreed. It was one of those old fashioned kind, where the bar lap was the only thing that kept you from falling to your death. I liked that though. Usually they were the stupid carriage kind.

"I hope you know I hate heights."

"Sorry Mr. Anti gravity ninja. I am sure this isn't going to kill you." I teased. We took a seat and were strapped in. The ride started up. I think it was more of one of those stupid day dreams that teenagers had. Something about fairs and Ferris wheels were just so romantic. Personally I liked the height but it also didn't hurt that you were strapped together with someone you liked.

"This is high," he said looking over the sides as the ride went up higher.

"Just focus on me then!" I laughed. He turned his head so that he was staring at me. I looked out as we came to the top for the first time. The sun was just beginning to set. The sky was turning that pink orange that it did. Purple hints dotted, and there was very little blue.

"You know I think I saw this before on like a short or something. The girl just wanted him on the Ferris wheel so she could kiss him and he couldn't run away."

"Oh no," I rolled my eyes sarcastically, "You've figured it out! Damn you Arthur." We both laughed.

"Unless that is what you want… a kiss."

"Please." I said as we passed the bottom again, "I can kiss you whenever and wherever I want."

"Oh really?"

"Really," I insisted. The ride stopped. I laughed as a look of panic came over his face, we were at the very top.

"Just focus on me!" I reminded him. The ride was still still.

"Ok," he breathed. He looked over at me, but I could tell he was still nervous. I took his right hand with my left one and forced his eyes to meet mine. He was shaking, aw that was so sweet.

"Like right now." I whispered. He was quick as he pushed his lips against mine. The ride began to move again and he pulled away, scared of the movement as well. I smiled and looked over the side, which also helped hide my blushing. How corny were we? The ride stopped all together and we got off. As we stepped down from the platform Arthur took my hand.

"Is that Lucy?" he squinted. Sure enough there was the punk girl I could never miss.

"Hey B!" I called. She froze and turned, her eyes wide with fear as if she were in trouble. When she saw me, she noticeably relaxed. I wondered what she had done to make her act that way. She ran over to us and smiled. Though she seemed to be alert, glancing over her shoulder ever couple of seconds.

"Woah… did you just get Arthur to go on the Ferris wheel?" she looked like she was impressed.

"Yeah… why?" I really didn't think anything of it.

"Arthur has only gone on the Ferris wheel like twice in his life.. he hates it… man he must really love you." She laughed. I looked over at Arthur who was blushing. I couldn't help but laugh, that was so cute!

"Anyways _Lucy_," He was sure to accent her name, "I am sure that Ari will agree with me when I say you made the right choice about staying."

"Why were you leaving?" I probed. Lucy, B, whatever the hell her name was crossed her arms with attitude. She threw an angry look at Arthur and then came back to me, "So…. What are you… an architect?"

"Yes…" I frowned, "well I'm in college…"

"Oh cool. See Arthur you can be in school and work at the same time… I'm a forger," she added lightly looking at me. I shook my head and looked between the two, "Woah, woah, woah, you're a… dreamer?"

"Sure am," she smiled at the subject, "Thanks to Art the Fart."

"What?" I laughed.

"Oh sorry Arthur… did you outgrow your old name?" she mused, "Pity."

"Unfortunately Eames was a heavy influence on her youth," Arthur clenched his fists.

"Of course he did," I laughed.

"Well… I guess I should say congrats. I never thought Arthur would actually get a wife after becoming… well… what we are… but I think it should make sense you are in on the addiction as well." She said quickly.

"The addiction?" I repeated.

"Arthur!" she exclaimed so suddenly I almost had a heart attack, "You didn't tell me she was new…"

"No Lucy!" he cut her off calmly, "I didn't for a reason… Look we can discuss all of this later. Whenever, just later."

"I will stay," she said quickly, "But only so I can figure out the mind of someone who actually would marry you." She winked at me. I wasn't exactly sure what she thought about me. One moment she was friendly the next she was angry and then she was deceiving.

"Fine, thank you," he said.

"By the way Arthur you look really awkward." Lucy said, eyeing the way he held my waist. I had to admit that it was kind of awkward but I think that was because he was always scared to touch me. As if I didn't want it or something.

"What do you mean?"

"You look really uncomfortable," she said, putting her hands on her hips, "Imagine how awkward he's going to be later on in the pregnancy." I clenched my teeth. I hated the subject.

"No, I really love Ari and I won't be awkward because I will always think she is beautiful." He answered defiantly. Lucy shrugged, "Whatever. Your life, man. See you two later. I think I spotted some mountain grasshoppers over by the entrance gates. I think I am going to take one and put it in Claudette's purse. See ya." With that she vanished again, up to no good.

After that we began to walk and just talk. I guess that was something we had been doing a lot talking, but I was really learning a lot about him. He was way more interesting than I originally pinned him to be. He was also fun to talk to. I found it even nice to discuss the weather with him. I really enjoyed his company and I hoped he enjoyed mine. After all we were… something.

That was one thing I still had to figure out. What were we? Were we boyfriend girlfriend? That would be nice, or were we friends with benefits… minus the benefits because we hadn't really gotten to that part yet.

"Oh wow, they have milk bottle toss… I used to be so good at this," he stopped at the booth.

"Go for it," I smiled. There was definently more to him than met the eye. He was very sweet and charming and gentlemanly, but he could also be funny and silly. He made jokes out of boring things and despite the way he acted, he could be very sarcastic sometimes.

"Wow, that was really great," I came back to the fair and out of my thoughts. The man took a stuffed toy off the shelf and handed it to Arthur. "Nice arm."

"Wow, I sure do feel like I'm in high school again," he smiled. He took the penguin and handed it to me. I almost died in that moment. The corners of his eyes wrinkled in that adorable way that they did whenever he laughed. I smiled and pushed my face into the plush penguin.

"What were you like in high school. I am trying to get a picture but I just can't seem to do it," I said, this was normal conversation. Could I consider this a date?

"Well… I think I was a nerd. I had friends and Claudette, but I really don't know what other people thought about me… I tried not to let that stuff ruin the experience you know?" he said, "Some people say the only reason I was popular though was because I was the school's best swimmer and cross country runner so, maybe that had to do with it." He shrugged, "What about you in high school?"  
>"Me?" I wasn't expecting to talk about me. I hated high school. I loved it and hated it at the same time. It was one of those 'My parents are ruining my life' type of experiences. I opened my mouth to talk but I heard someone call our names.<p>

"Arthur, Ariadne! We're right here," Penny and Rich sat at some tables that were set up beside the vendors. I put down the penguin beside Penny, I wasn't one for stuffed animals.

"Hi, mom, where is Claudette?" he asked with a frown.

"She left. She found a bug in her purse and flipped," Rich laughed. I smiled and made a note to thank B later. Penny looked a little more annoyed though, "So are you going to stay for the fireworks or what?" I groaned aloud, I felt like staying but not with his parents.

"Want to get out of here?" he whispered into my ear.

"Of course," I said warily.

"Mom, Ari is feeling kind of nauseous. I think we're just going to head home now."

"Oh of course. Ari sweetie feel better!" she called as we headed away from the area.

"What are you doing Arthur?" I whispered as we started to head away.

"There is one spot… we can get away." He pulled me down the lane and past the back of the rides. We went down a dark trail. I could tell we were surrounded by trees but I couldn't see a thing. Then the ground beneath me began to slope, he kept urging me forwards though. Finally I saw something ahead. The glint of moonlight. It was a full moon of course. Then I saw some sort of sparkling. He pulled me through a line of trees and I gasped.

There was a small lake that stretched out. The moon's reflection shone brightly on the surface. Slowly he sat down on the grass, pulling me down with him.

"This is so nice," I shivered. I never knew summer nights could be so cold.

"It is nice," he said. His hands pulled through my hair. I closed my eyes and just breathed. We were alone, finally.

"Ari, you know I wasn't lying today… when we were talking to B?" he whispered.

"About what? The fact that you thought I was beautiful or that you really love me?" I didn't bother to look up.

"Well… love is a strong word that I'm not going to just throw out there… but yes, the second one." He laughed. "More like both. I do think your beautiful… sorry,"

"That's ok," I was all of the sudden filled with warmth, "I feel the same way."

"Thank you Ari, for everything."

I ignored the sound as fireworks began to go off into the air. Bright colors filling the black sky.

"You know… I have one final way you can pay me back," I leaned back into the grass. Arthur turned his torso and followed me. His hands brushed away the hair in my face and he planted a kiss on my lips. And it was in that moment, I realized, this was the way I wanted it to be. Everything was perfect.

**A/N: If you want to check out what some of the character's from this story look like then there are links on my profile page. The girl that plays Lucy has green or hazel eyes in real life but I dubbed in brown lol so just pretend. It's just a general outline of them. And if you have ever seen the actress who play's Claudette, think of a higher pitched voice then that actress' because that's not what I imagine Claudette to sound like lol. Oh and Hoyt hasn't been really introduced yet but he will in time. One more thing I will dedicate the next chapter to whoever can guess why I gave Lucy the nickname B and Ariadne the nickname C… (Hint: movie that she has worked on)**


	8. PARTY!

**A/N: This is kind of long so you can read this first or last it doesn't matter….. **

**Ok so first off I want to apologize for being away for this week but it's the only week I am not here I promise. Second I wanted to say that during my stay I caught a bit of writer's block thanks to the unfocused attention… I had to watch Inception three times when I got back to get my mojo back lol. THIRD and Finally, I wanted to say that unfortunately no one got the movie…. It was Super. You know the Crimson Bolt and Boltie/Libby…. Maybe that's just me that knows that movie… oh wait ONE MORE thing… I wanted to know what you guys think about Lucy… I got a review and a few PMs about people not liking her… I am depending on you to tell me if you want her to stay or go! Good or bad? Too much? Too out there? Just tell me if you think she is a good idea or not because I will take her out if enough of you don't like her. (The reason this chapter is weird is because I am indecisive and I need your help with the whole Lucy thing so before the story can really move on please tell me what you think! Like I had to take it In a different direction for one chapter. So before I can really go tell me! Wow sorry for wasting your time! **

The sun tickled my cheeks as it shone through the open window. I could feel a slight breeze which made me shiver. I didn't open my eyes as I sighed. His hands moved to run his fingers through my hair. I finally opened my eyes and glanced up.

"Sorry… I'm loud," I said in a whisper.

"No, I was awake," he didn't open his eyes either; "I just didn't want to wake you. You looked… peaceful." I went back to the position I woke up in and smiled, "Thanks." He didn't answer, but I think we both knew that was because the silence was just as beautiful as hearing each other talk. I heard the steady thrum of his heart beat, my cheek against his bare chest. He was the first to move, he slowly sat up, forcing me to get up along with him.

"What do we have to do today?" he asked. I shook my head and leaned forwards, "Nothing planned… but I can think of a few things we could do." His beautiful smile always made me smile.

"We could…" he answered thoughtfully. Despite how wonderful and romantic I hoped it would be, I honestly didn't remember it. All I could remember was waking up, which almost always meant that it wasn't real. I was dreaming… again. I frowned at the dream Arthur and lay back down on the bed. The darkness of the dream sweeping me away.

I opened my eyes and this time I knew it was real, since it was raining and the place beside me on the bed was empty. The way it had been every time I woke up since almost the first day.

"Were you dreaming?" Arthur smiled at me.

"How did you know?" I wiped my forehead.

"You said my name twice…" he said, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. I sat up and immediately felt dizzy. It had been almost a week since the fair. The next few days afterwards were nothing worth mentioning. I'm sure it would have been if I hadn't have come down with the stupid flu.

"What time is it?" I wondered aloud.

"Almost six… pm…" he sighed as he sat down on the bed.

Being bedridden was something I hated, even more so now. I'm sure Arthur didn't find a wheezing, sweaty girl sexy in the least. That wasn't the only thing I had to worry about though. I had to stop Penny from calling the doctor about the baby. Seeing as there wasn't one, I knew going to the doctor's, was out of the question. I would just have to toughen up and take it.

The only fun part of being sick, whether you're with your family or at your fake husband's parent's house, was that, someone always waited on you. Hand and foot, twenty four seven, someone was always there to make sure every whim and need was covered.

"Here you go," Arthur placed a bowl of chicken noodle soup down with the tray.

"Thank you," I looked up at him, sniffing back a congested nose.

"Not a problem," he hesitated, something he had done since I first started feeling sick. I don't know if it was because he was OCD and a germaphobe or because I had caught it from our little make out session.

"I think I am feeling a little better today," I lied. He seemed intrigued, "Good!"

"Not amazing though," I added as a wave of nausea hit me.

"Oh," he stood up and rubbed his arms. He wore his normal long collared shirt with black pants and a tie. I couldn't complain that he seldom wore casual clothes though. I loved him in a suit and tie.

"Well… I have something for you…" he said looking over his shoulder, scared almost. I frowned.

"I got you two presents yesterday," he offered. That perked me up. I weakly moved my arms to prop myself up better.

"Really?" I smiled, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh but I really think that you are going to like them… or one of them…"

"Why wouldn't I like both?" I asked cautiously.

"Um… well… you'll see," he said as he went over to the closet and pulled open the door. He picked up a bag and took out a box. I couldn't read the title but it didn't look like something that I had seen before. It wasn't a giant box it was small. But I didn't know what came in a box. He opened it and pulled out something that looked like fabric. He put the box down on the bed. I read it and put the tray of soup beside me. I picked it up and read the title.

"Arthur… what… the…"

"Ari…" he frowned.

"No… NO!" I stood up, "This is where I draw the line.

"Please," he looked at me with those beautiful eyes of his. I folded my arms. I would really have to try not to give in, "Arthur… come on…"

"Just please try it on," he handed it out to me. I narrowed my eyes and snatched the stupid thing out of his hands. Slowly I pulled the strap around my waist. This was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life… right next to the time Eames and I got smashed…. No this was the worst time.

It didn't look so bad. Then again it was only the very first setting, a small bump. Since that was where I was supposed to be. I hated these things though. I felt like I was wearing my lies now. Like that lady on glee! Nothing good happened to her. She ended up getting kicked off being a main character and everyone hated her! I was going to be that person if I wore this. Maybe this was where I was supposed to draw the line. I looked back over at Arthur who was staring at the ceiling. I couldn't do that to him.

"Why did you get me this in the first place?" I asked as I fixed my shirt over the top and took a seat. I felt more awkward since it looked more real than I thought it would. Arthur seemed… impressed? Annoyed? I couldn't tell.

"It has to be believable… unless you want this whole past week to be a waste."

"Well there has to be another reason than that…" I looked up at his face. There was something.

"Well… I was hoping we could get out of it but my mom insisted…"

"Arthur…" I felt my eyes widening, "Tell me what it is now…"

"She invited all potential guests for the wedding to a party tonight…" he said slowly.

"And I have to wear this?" I groaned aloud. He got up and reached into the bag and took something out of it, "You know I didn't tell you what else I got you…"

"Oh and this is something to kiss my ass?" I laughed. He nodded, "Of sorts. But I also wanted to get you something… because I needed to know for myself…"

"What?" I could see what he held. It was a long box. A necklace box.

"Arthur what is that?"

"Will you go out with me?" he pulled the necklace out of the box. I smiled. It was beautiful.

"I thought we were already going out…" I let the heart dangle along my fingertips.

"I just wanted to make it official." He smiled, "Like a gentleman would." I blushed and rose from the bed.

"Will you put it on me?" I turned and moved my hair out of the way. He seemed to be slow for a moment, clumsily handling the chain. His hands were shaking. Slowly it came around my neck. Gently he hooked it and let it hang. I let my hair go and turned to face him.

"So you like it?"

"I love it," I felt it with my right hand. "Thank you." Quickly he leaned over and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same. I went over to the closet and started to get dressed properly. I knew I would have to dress to impress for the night. But I also had to find something that would fit over the stupid bump thing. When I was done, so was he. Wearing a suit as always. And as always, he looked stunningly handsome. I headed over to him as I played with my new necklace.

"Were you nervous?" I asked as he kissed my forehead.

"Well…" he averted my gaze.

"What if I had said no?"

"It was worth a shot," he whispered with a laugh. I chuckled softly, leave it to him to be corny at a time like this. I moved over towards the vanity and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Normally I wasn't one for dresses but tonight I was determined to beat out Claudette. Even with the stupid fake stomach I looked pretty good. It was a small bump for now, which could easily be overlooked. It just looked like I had eaten too much for the day. Besides tonight Cobb, Eames and Yusuf would be here and they knew the story, they wouldn't judge. I wore a strapless black dress that came down to cover just above my knees in a very flowy material. Of course there was a thick white belt that wrapped around and I had high heels to match. This stuff wasn't really me, but for one night it wasn't going to kill me. Plus I thought I looked pretty good.

"Are you ready now?" Arthur took my hand. I nodded and grabbed my purse. Together we headed down the stairs. I could hear music by the time we hit the second floor. As we got to the bottom I could tell why. There were more people there than I had ever seen in my life. Arthur had even said people were out back too, though I couldn't imagine who else could be there since it looked like the world on one floor of a hotel.

"Follow me. I know where my mom will be." He said as he pulled on my arm.

"Isn't that who we're avoiding?" I groaned.

"The sooner we see her the sooner we can go to bed." Motivation like that was what pushed me through horrible events like this. I was glad that she was outside though. It was a beautiful night, despite the early morning weather. Lanterns were strewn all along posts that lines the pool area and gigantic terrace. People danced and talked and drank alcohol, as adults did at every party.

"Are you sure she'll…"

"There is a tikki bar… of course she'll be here," he laughed. "All we have to do is wait."

"Arthur?" Someone said his name. Though it wasn't a woman's. Arthur and I whipped around to see the team standing in front of us. As I was sure I did, they looked out of place. Though they were dressed nicely. There was always something about all of them that just screamed, 'secretive,' and 'rough'.

"Ari?" Eames' eyes widened slightly. I elbowed Arthur as hard as I could.

"Ow," he coughed.

"Hey guys!" I hugged Dom first, Yusuf second and Eames last. As I stepped back Eames was smiling, trying, and failing, to contain his laughter.

"What?" I blushed a brilliant red. Eames took my hand, "Darling… please…"

"Eames shut it," Arthur hissed under his breath as Penny and Rich approached. I took a step closer to Cobb. Arthur turned and started to say something but none of us payed any attention to it.

"How are you?" I asked. I always felt like a therapist around him. He always seemed to need it, what with the kids and the shade and just about anything else in life, he wasn't having the greatest time.

"Pretty good. I haven't seen you in a while. I wish I saw you more often," he whispered as he took my hand. I looked up at him. His face was sad, I could tell he had always been upset after the inception job. Sure he was happy to be home and see his kids but he kept questioning whether it had been right to leave Mal like that.

"I know I wish I saw you more often too," I sniffed.

"You remember Dillon Eames of course," Arthur seemed bitter about the introduction. Both Penny and Rich's face fell as they lay eyes on the forger once again. I couldn't blame them though. Eames always wore the gaudiest outfits. A light brown stripped suit with a pink shirt. Plus I was sure that they probably knew he associated with their daughter, and probably figured he influenced her in some way.

"Good to see you again," Penny said in that 'I'm too good for you' type of voice. Eames leaned over and kissed her hand. Rich rolled his eyes.

"This is Dom Cobb," Arthur interrupted. "I don't know if you remember him or not."

"Of course," Penny looked down at our hands, which still grasped each other's. I let go and rejoined Arthur who didn't seem to notice since he was too focused on Eames and Rich glaring at each other.

"Good to see you again Dom," she held out her hand willingly. Cobb took it uneasily and looked down at me. I nodded encouragingly. He let go, "You too."

"And this is…"

"You can just call me Yusuf," he cut in. Penny smiled and nodded, shaking his hand as well.

"So Dom, how are the kids?" she almost turned to me. I frowned.

"They're all right. They're at my father-in-law's house right now since we're both in Paris." He said looking over at Arthur. We all seemed to be exchanging uneasy glances that were going to be caught eventually.

"I…"

"Penny! Arthur!" I scowled as Claudette began to approach us. Eames edged away slowly and bent over to whisper in my ear, "The devil spawn." I tried to stifle a laugh but I didn't think Eames of all people would say something like that about someone so… pretty.

"Hi," she looked over at the men and her eyes widened.

"Claudette," Eames refused to look at her.

"Eames," she clenched her teeth. Arthur rubbed his neck and took my hand.

"I don't believe I've met you," she looked at Yusuf, "_or you_." She trailed off as she looked at Cobb.

"Yusuf," Yusuf said quickly, but Claudette was already intrigued with Dom.

"Nice to meet you Mr…"

"Cobb." He said holding out his hand. She took it and then stepped closer to him. I rolled my eyes, this was getting more awkward by the second. Cobb frowned and rescinded his hand faster than he meant to.

"Anyways. Ariadne darling I have some friends of mine I would like you to meet," she sounded reluctant about it though. I pulled Arthur behind me leaving the team to deal with the witch.

Penny led us into the house. There was a crowd of people who were dancing and talking the same way people were outside, though it was much stuffier and the smell of smoke and alcohol was clear in the air. Finally we made our way to a group of four who stood around. All of them had drinks in their hand and looked bored.

"Hello Ariadne," That English accent _had_ to be fake.

"Hello." I said as politely as I could.

"Ariadne this is Trisha, Isabella, Stefan, and Paulo," Penny smiled at the others. They all looked creepily alike. The men both wore Italian designer suits, and looked like they were ready for a commercial shoot. The woman on the other hand reminded me exactly of Penny. Wearing their old lady dresses with too much make up and beautox that only made them look older.

"Nice to meet you," I shook their hands. They looked at each other. I saw the judgment in their eyes. I took a step closer to Arthur.

"You as well," Trisha, the English one, said.

"So how are you?"

"What are you talking about Izzi? She's obviously great, mooching off Pen like this," they giggled. Oh they were those people. I hated their type. The men weren't really into the conversation. Though it was the type of thing you just had to take and let slip by because you were trying to kiss someone else's ass by being nice.

"I am good, thank you," I squeezed Arthur's hand. Though he was tense, he knew I was angry.

"I heard about the baby… congrats. Though you have some nerve… seeing as you are at your husband's parent's house." Trisha went on.

"We knew before we came actually," I lied.

"Of course you did," Isabella smirked skeptically. I was getting angrier and angrier by the second.

"Tell me Ariadne… are you into necrophilia," Trisha and Isabella burst into a fit off giggles that you would never expect from people their age.

"Sorry no, I'm not into necrophilia…" I forced out between clenched teeth.

"Well then you better take better care of your husband." She gave a slight roll of the eyes. That was it.

"Excuse me." I stepped forwards defiantly. "I take perfect care of Arthur. I give him everything he needs, I cook for him, we live together in a house we own together, and I love him. I love him more than anyone has ever loved another person. Arthur is a grown man who likes to eat, he just has a fast metabolism. He is very healthy and even if he wasn't I would never change him, because I love him just the way he is."

Trisha scrunched her nose in disgust.

"Oh shut up. It's better than those fake men who are probably screwing other girls behind your back. For your information beautox is supposed to make you look younger not like a freaking mannequin. Plus I hope you know just because you're rich it doesn't mean you're better than me. I may not have much but I have what I need." I looked at Isabella, "A place to be and someone who loves me. That's all anyone needs." At this point I was just letting my thoughts fall out of my mouth like word vomit. I didn't mean to offend them… well actually I did.

"Well…" Stefan's face was red, "I think we have to go. Nice to see you Penny." He turned away coldly and started for the door. I folded my arms. I felt Arthur wrap his arm around my waist. The other two hurried off into the crowd as well. I couldn't help but smile to myself. Penny hurried after them, not bothering to say anything to me.

"Ariadne…" Arthur whispered. I turned to face him. I smiled, he was holding back laughter, I could tell.

"You are officially the best girlfriend I have ever had!" he pulled me into a kiss. We headed back outside.

"Arthur!" Someone called to him. I was began to walk over to some other people with him when Eames and Yusuf came up to me.

"Oh hey guys…"

"I have to get out of here." Eames groaned, "If I knew it was a party full of Arthurs then I wouldn't have come… though seeing you was a plus darling." He kissed my hand. I laughed.

"I am sorry," Eames said quickly, "This place is a mad house… I have to go and get drunk."

"Eames!" I scolded. He shrugged, "Sorry love, being blunt as usual. Yusuf you coming buddy?" The chemist nodded like he was scared of what Eames would do if he said no.

"All right." Eames headed out. I watched as they disappeared. My eyes went back to Arthur who was still talking to some of the other men. The ones that Penny had said were Claudette's brothers… or something along those lines. A hand grabbed mine and I almost screamed in surprise.

"Ari, shh," he whispered in my ear. "it's just me."

"Sorry Cobb… why did you have to sneak up on me?" I took a deep breath.

"You know me…" he laughed. I smiled and nodded.

"I have to talk to you," he said, his eyes looking out at the other guests.

"Ok," I frowned. He leaned in, "Privately. Go to the linen closet on the first floor in five minutes," His whispered sent a shiver down my spine. I nodded and looked at him. He gave me a smile to assure me that everything was ok and I was forced to smile back. With haste, he vanished into the massive crowd. I looked up again and Arthur was still chatting away. Surely he wouldn't miss me for long. I looked around and caught Penny staring at me. I didn't know what she had seen but she looked appauled… or maybe that was just anger. I shrugged it off, it was only Penny.

With reason to get out of there I started behind Cobb, towards the linen closet on the first floor.

When I got there I realized that there was really no urgency at all. It was just business.

"What's new?" I asked.

"The mark… he has a militarized subconscious."

"Am I going under?"

"I just had to tell you… it might be necessary." He said quickly. I shook my head, "I don't care either way. Just don't tell Arthur. He wants things here to go off well and us leaving early due to running from an employer or subject won't make him happy."

"Hence the closet," he laughed. I nodded, "I'll have those sets built for you by tomorrow night and I'll drive them over." He nodded, "All right. Well thank you for this little meeting. I didn't want to mix business with pleasure but…"

"It was necessary, I understand," I rubbed his arm. He nodded and pushed the door open. We only got a few weird looks but to be honest I didn't think that any of the people that saw us knew who I was. For all they knew we were married. I wasn't the one they came to see, the girl that was the lucky wife of Arthur Fredrick… correction _the_ Arthur Fredrick, son of Richard Fredrick, the lucky millionaire.

"Have a good night," Cobb smiled. I nodded and started for the door.

"Oh hello Penny," I greeted as I reached the patio door. She frowned, "Oh Ari dear… hello."

"I don't know if you saw Arthur… I can't find him," I said, trying to see behind her.

"He is just over there, near the pool."

"Thank you," I frowned at her. She was giving me one of the most blatantly obvious unfriendly looks I had ever seen in my life. I pushed my way past her and met up with Arthur.

"Oh there you are." Arthur kissed me. It wasn't fake, I could tell.

"Good to see you too," I smiled. It was the one thing that wasn't false now.

"Did the guys leave?" he looked around. I nodded, "Now we can go too." He hesitated for a moment.

"All right fine." Together we headed back to our room. The only reason I had gone in the first place was the team, why should I have to stay. Besides, I was sick and needed my rest.

"How are you feeling? Any better?" he asked as he took off his jacket and tie.

"I'm feeling a little better now, yeah. Thanks." I sat at the vanity. I wasn't really a narcissist but right now I could only focus on my image of the mirror. I could see Arthur coming up closer.

"You were great tonight with those people." He smiled.

"Thank you…" I took off the necklace he had given me and placed it back in the box where it belonged. His hands took my shoulders, pushing my hair to one side. Slowly he bent down and kissed the skin below my jaw bone. He made his way forwards until our lips met. I got up and wrapped my arms around his neck, his hands wrapping around my waist. Not in a rush whatsoever he fell onto the bed, pulling me on top of him. This time I knew no one was going to interrupt us. This was it, the paramount moment that I had been waiting for. We were finally together.


	9. Love and Lies

**Author's Note: I had writer's block. I apologize deeply. There are no words for how horrible I feel… but thank you to all my tumblr friends who came on and helped me! I love you guys **

This was it! The day had finally come! It was the day before opening! In other words, the day that Penny and Rich were too busy to do anything but micromanage… everything. The staff, the cleaning, the rooms, the service all had to be top notch, one hundred percent, the best. That would keep them away from anything else that day. This included Penny and her manic wedding plans.

"… and then I thought we could…" Arthur was cut off by the sound of my cell phone.

"Sorry," I frowned as I hurried to silence it, "Could you just hold on a second?"

"Ok?" he rolled out of bed.

"What?" I spat into the phone.

"Hey… what's up?"

"Cobb… you better have more to say than what's up…" I hissed.

"Woah… who got your panties in a twist?" he asked calmly, "I was just wondering if you were coming over today with those plans… we need them for tonight."

"You have to be kidding me," my shoulder slumped.

"Sorry Ari… I have to…"

"All right… I'll be there soon," I snapped the phone shut before he could answer. I turned and let out a small gasp.

"What?" he frowned. I let a smile slip across my face. And I had thought he looked most beautiful when he wore his suits. I bit my lip with a sigh, "Nothing." I tried to sound as innocent as I could but I couldn't control the way I felt. I never knew how much I liked Arthur until now. Until the moment I could finally tell him without judgment.

"What was that then?" he asked.

"Oh…" I shook my head, I got side tracked so easily, "Cobb wants me to get the designs to him by the end of today." I felt like throwing the phone across the room. Of course on our day away from his parents, I wouldn't be there to experience it.

"That's ok!"

"What? Are you kidding me…" he cut me off with a knowing look. "What do you suggest we do then?" "What do you do when life hands you lemons?" he half smiled.

"You ask for the receipt," I crossed my arms.

"No you…"

"…throw them back and say 'I want candy?'"

"No you…"

"Sell them on e-bay."

"NO! You make lemonade!" he cried exasperatedly.

"Yeah, but without water and sugar, your lemonade is going to suck!"

"It's a metaphor!"

"For sucky lemonade… a sucky life…" I finished as I got up. He rolled his eyes, "Well… we'll just have to make the best out of the bad situation." I threw my phone onto the floor and turned over in the covers.

"Come on," he whispered as he slipped into the bed. His arms went around my waist, his fingers itching at the edge of my tee shirt. He kissed my cheek. I sat up, pushing him away, "Yeah yeah… let's just get going."

"What a tease," he muttered under his breath.

"It's what I do best," I giggled.

I climbed out of bed and went over to my suitcase, which I still hadn't unpacked. Procrastination was my middle name. I pulled out one of my many scarves and then my outfit. I usually went on what scarf I was wearing that day. For normal people it would probably be the opposite but I was always weird when I got dressed. I was that person that wore stuff that looked like it would clash but could totally pull it off. Perhaps it was my total lack of curves, or maybe it was due to the fact that I just hit five foot… by like a centimeter. I tried to think that to make up for my height I had more charisma, coming full circle back around to my weird outfit choices.

I wore my plane white tee with my red sweater, classic. Jeans were so underrated, and of course my weird boots that I found once at this weird thrift shop. Last thing I pulled on was the necklace Arthur had given me. I had never been so attached to a piece of jewelry like that. My scarf covered it but just the fact that I had it and it was there was enough to comfort me.

Arthur was already waiting for me outside when I was done.

"Designs are in the car." I said as I flung my bag over my shoulder. "You know I was really looking forward to the whole house to ourselves today. This is the last day it'll be this empty…"

"It doesn't matter though," his fingers interlaced with mine.

"Why is that?" I smirked.

"As long as we're together, the place shouldn't matter," he smiled. I rolled my eyes, "You're so corny!"

"Trying to be charming… romantic… I wasn't really going for corny," he laughed.

"Just being you is charming enough," I assured him with a peck on the cheek. He laughed and together we headed down the stairs.

The day was semi nice. There were clouds, but it was the nice kind of shady. If the sun were out it would be really humid and boiling hot. Though the chance of rain seemed to be present today. Arthur let go of my hand as he took out his keys and motioned for me to stop.

"Let me go get the car… you just sit tight," he smiled before heading down the path that led to the side garage. I took a seat on the steps to the hotel and sighed.

"_I was slicing up an avo-cado! You put your arms around me!_" Lucy sauntered out of the front singing and took a seat behind me. She took her headphones out and pushed it into her shoe. I frowned but she didn't seem to notice.

"What do you want this morning?" I didn't even turn to face her. A devious smile came across her face, "Nice to see you too!"

"Good morning B,"

"Good morning Ariadne." My full name and a cold shoulder?

"Everything all right?" I frowned.

"Everything is fine," she answered quickly. There was something up though. "So are you guys heading to the city?"

"How did you know?"

"When Arthur was waiting for you in the hallway… I _spied_ on him." She spoke carefully, as if she might be giving something away if she didn't speak the right words. I nodded, trying to put together what she was so annoyed about. I had barely spoken to her since the fair, a week ago now.

"All right so…"

The black car pulled around to the front. Arthur got out of the car, letting the engine run idly.

"Lucy…" he rolled his eyes, "B… what are you doing here?"

"Oh," she glanced over at me with a vicious smile before she stood up, "I know you two are heading into the city today… correct?"

"How did you…"

"I have my ways," she cut in quickly, "Point being… I need a ride and look at the convenience of the situation!"

"No," he said firmly.

"Arthur," she approached him slowly, with full confidence, "I have more ways of blackmail than you can imagine. Any person you know… Mom, dad… Ari," she glanced over her shoulder, "I know you…"

"All right!" his eyes widened. He winced with chagrin as he spoke, "Get in the car."

"SHOT GUN!" she giggled very girlishly and un-Lucy like for a moment. I stood. Arthur clenched his fists. I hurried around to the driver's seat.

"Ari…"

"No Arthur… you have road rage. You and her in the front seat, alone… not good," I caught his hand before he was able to sit. With a sigh, he reluctantly took to the back seat. I got in and adjusted the seat. Lucy plugged her iPod into the car and started up a song that I had never heard before. Though Arthur seemed to recognize it since he groaned and slumped in his seat like a little kid.

Lucy twisted in her seat, "Come on Arthur… I know you know this song!"

"Shut up… I let you come…" he hissed through clenched teeth. Nonchalantly she shrugged and pulled out the iPod. She plugged back in her headphones and leaned against the seat. Ready for the long two hour car ride.

It wasn't until an hour and a half in when someone finally spoke to me again.

"Hey," B sat up, casting a cautious glance behind her.

"It's about time sleeping beauty." I teased.

"Aladan," she corrected. I frowned but a slight laugh escaped my lips.

"So… I just need to talk you…"

"is this why you insisted on coming?" I asked.

"No, I really do have plans in the city," she bit at her black nail polished fingernails.

"Then…"

"I know your secret..." I didn't exactly react the way she thought I would I guess. My hands tightened around the steering wheel and I could feel my heart begin to race, but other than that I was controlled. I couldn't jump to conclusions. I didn't know how much she knew. I knew that no matter what though I would have to explain the story in the end.

"You are pathetic. I think what you are doing is… disgusting," she folded her arms.

"I know… it's bad," I sighed, "I don't think its… disgusting. I really wouldn't have done it, but Arthur asked me and I had nothing else to do and he seemed desperate…"

"WHAT?" she screamed. I jumped at the volume. Quickly I turned the wheel, pulling over the side of the road. Lucy stared at me, her eyes boring into me. I frowned and took the keys out of the ignition.

"What exactly are you talking about?" I asked as calmly as I could manage, which was still in a panicked tone. Lucy looked back at Arthur who, thank God, was still asleep.

"I'm talking about you cheating on Arthur," she whispered. My first reaction probably wasn't what she was looking for either. I started to laugh. Discomfort played across her face. I couldn't help myself though. It was too funny. As if I would ever cheat on him. It was almost the exact opposite. I was… not in love… not yet… I liked Arthur… a lot. I think she expected denial and awkwardness. She wasn't ready for this.

"Stop laughing!" she demanded.

"I'm sorry," I shook my head, "That's just too funny!"

"I…. I don't think it is… he's my brother!"

"LUCY!" I almost screamed as loud as she did, "I am NOT cheating on Arthur."

"Then what did Arthur ask you to do that he was desperate about?" she demanded.

"Look… B… I only met Arthur a year ago. I didn't even talk to him for a few months…"

"What are you saying?" she shook her head confused.

"Your life is a secret, right?" I frowned. She was a forger, surely she would understand.

"What do you mean?"

"Dreaming,"

"Well of course," she sat back in her chair, relaxing for a moment. I looked back over to Arthur. It didn't really look like there was a choice.

"Arthur was tired of your parents nagging him about marrying… I'm assuming Claudette, and so he told them he was already married. He didn't even have a girlfriend though. They think he is a social worker or something weird… government worker… and he couldn't tell them about everything!" I protested. Lucy stared for a moment, her mouth hanging open. She took it in for a few moments.

"Wait… you're not even married?" disappointment and hurt spread across her face.

"No," I shook my head sadly.

"So let me guess… your not…"

"Pregnant either… thank God for that," I smiled. She sighed and twisted her face to the side. I couldn't tell what she was thinking by her face. She seemed closed and distant, unlike other people. Maybe it was what helped make her forger, being able to close herself off and observe other people.

"I knew you looked different than last night," she smirked. That was right, I had forgotten this morning. Though that wasn't a horrible thing. Besides, I wasn't going to see Penny or Rich all day, so what was the harm of forgetting the stomach? I started the car up again. We pulled back out onto the road. Every few moments I would look over, and see what she was doing. She still seemed speechless, though I could tell she was thinking something. I just wasn't sure if she was still thinking about my confession.

"Well," I paused, "I guess it wasn't going to be a secret from everyone… I guess I'm glad you did find out." I had to break the silence.

"I am too," she smiled deviously. I knew something was already going through her mind.

"What?"

"No nothing, I just… I'm glad you told me. Good luck with convincing my mom you're not cheating though," she smiled. I let my eyes slip from the road back to her, "Excuse me?"

"Here we are," she pointed to the exit. I pulled onto the road and we were entering the city. The good old familiar city that was Paris. It was nice to be back. Though usually I walked everywhere. That or biking was usually the transportation, especially when you were a college student. It was only recently I had decided to get a car, what with all the new money and such.

"I'll just get out with you two," she said, going through her bag. I frowned, what? Convincing her mom of that? She thought that I was cheating on Arthur?

"ARTHUR!" B turned around in her seat and threw something at him. It was too fast, I couldn't tell what it was. "ARTHUR!" she threw an identical object. I laughed only when I realized what it was, her shoes.

"Ow!" he woke with a start. He threw the high-tops back in the front as she began to giggle. It didn't look like I was going to talk to her much about it though. For now, I didn't want Arthur to know I blew the secret. Though keeping a secret from him seemed a little redundant.

"Damn it Lucy!" he rubbed his eyes and stretched. I pulled over, I never realized how close the warehouse was to the outer part of the city. As we got out Arthur went around to the back. Lucy pulled on a large pair of neon colored shutter glasses and put them on.

"Let's do this shit," she went to the door. I rolled my eyes and helped Arthur with the two designs, also taking my bag full of complete scale sketches and full drawings.

It felt good, and normal for once. To just walk back into the place where it all began. The simple beginning.

"Look at who we have here!" Eames greeted us. Lucy was already in his arms. Arthur noticeably rolled his eyes.

"Arthur!" Cobb's voice filled with delight. He helped put the designs on a desk and hugged his old friend. I couldn't help but smile. It was the first time we were all back in a room together, plus two, but that was ok. It was the original team. The ones who had gotten me into dreams in the first place.

"Thank you for bringing these over, by the way," Cobb smiled at me.

"It's my job," I shrugged.

"Well… I guess you can go now," he sighed, jealously. I flashed him a smile before turning to leave.

"Wait… B, come on," Arthur went over to his sister, who seemed to be having a private chat with Eames.

"Nope," she took off her obnoxious shades. "I'm spending the rest of the day with Eames of course!" she laughed.

"Cobb," Arthur put a hand on his friends arm. Dom smiled with amusement, "Yes, I'll watch her."

"Shut up Arthur I can hear you!" she called from where she stood. Eames began to laugh. I took Arthur's hand. Something that seemed to grab everyone's attention. He smiled at me, something else that seemed to make everything a bit awkward.

"So, we will be back. About six I think…"

"Eames if you are not here with her I swear…" Arthur stepped forwards threateningly. Eames stifled more laughter and looked over at Lucy who wore that same trademark smile. Their minds together just made pure evil.

"Great job as usual, I'll call you before we…" he looked at Arthur, "I'll call you with all details."

I nodded, wow, these secrets that I was keeping from Arthur were piling up. He was the one person that I hadn't kept secrets from and now in twenty-four hours I had made huge promises to others and myself. I slipped about our secret, and I was keeping the fact that I was going to be gone for a while for the job. Two lies weren't a lot but they could pile up and…

"Ariadne… are you ok?" Arthur squeezed my hand.

"What? Oh yeah, sorry… zoned out," I licked my lips. "Let's just get out of here." Cobb waved and went back to the designs I had made. Eames led a suddenly animated B over towards his desk. Arthur scowled, but agreed to leave with me. Together we headed back out.

"What should we do?"

"Well let's see… we are a couple. In the most romantic city in the world. You decide." There were no immediate plans, and I couldn't complain. As long as we did it together

**This suddenly got very cheesy! :( **

**P.S: SOOO I want to know what you guys are thinking. Where do you want it to go from here? Are we looking for angst? Super drama? Super humorous chapter? More romance? (WHICH I FEEL HORRIBLE ABOU TBTW!) Do you want lemons cause it IS rated M and I can try it if you want but like I feel bad for making it M and only saying fuck like once and have like NO description so I can make it more M I you want lol.) But I am sort of an awkward smut writer because I don't have anything but other fanfictions to go off of soo….. anyways I can only do what you guys tell me to though so please review or something! :) **

**P.P.S: BTW thank you for all your reviews! You really helped me make a decision. I am going to keep Lucy but I am going to make her a background character… more Claudette though! (yay jk :) all the reviews though… awesome! You drive me to write… even though this update took forever**

**P.P.P.S: SORRY FOR THEM BEING SO OUT OF CHARACTER THIS CHAPTER! **

**P.P.P.P.S: SORRY for making this author's note longer than the chapter. I hate that too!**

**Before I leave you to ponder and review I have to thank people for reviewing because it really made me feel guilty about no updates and made me write this. All right so please FLOOD me with messages.**

**P.P.P.P.P.S: OH ONE MORE THING… sorry this chapter sucked. I've been working on it for… since the last update during writer's block and everything so if it feels forced THAT'S WHY!**


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